Clinging To Humanity
by Niek
Summary: I was suddenly pulled away from the panicky thoughts, as an explosion ricocheted through my chest. I screamed, and screamed again. The venom had reached my heart. It was inevitable now. I was going to get what I wanted. -I'd love your reviews & opinions :
1. Bitten

**(A/N: This is my first fanfic. The first section, the italicized part, I took straight from the climax of Eclipse, written by Stephenie Meyer. Umm… so yeah. That's kind of a HUGE spoiler, so don't go any further if you haven't read it. I will try my best to make this a great story, with as much trueness to the books as I can manage. Umm… what else? Please review, please please please. Umm… yeah. Hope ya like it. :D)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Eclipse, Twilight, or New Moon. I find disclaimers pointless as it is common knowledge that none of us own anything on this website, but for some reason, even though it's an already established fact, we denounce our rights even though it is completely and utterly unnecessary. But I only put this incase it's some Fanfiction rule that I've failed to find.**

Chapter One

"Nothing is impossible," Edward murmured, voice velvet soft as he moved another inch closer to her. "Except what you want. You'll never touch her."

_She shook her head, fast and jerky, fighting his diversions, and tried to duck around him, but he was in place to block her as soon as she'd thought of the plan. Her face contorted in frustration, and then she shifted lower into her crouch, a lioness again, and stalked deliberately forward._

_Victoria was no inexperienced, instinct-driven newborn. She was lethal. Even I could tell the difference between her and Riley, and I knew that Seth wouldn't have lasted so long if he'd been fighting _this_ vampire. _

_Edward shifted, too, as they closed on each other, and it was lion versus lioness._

_The dance increased in tempo._

_It was like Alice and Jasper in the meadow, a blurred spiraling of movement, only this dance was not as perfectly choreographed. Sharp crunches and crackings reverberated off the cliff face whenever someone slipped in their formation. But they were moving too fast for me to see who was making the mistakes…_

Then, as I was getting disconcertingly dizzy trying to focus on their fight, I saw something, or someone, being thrown into the air, the body zooming far away into the middle of the woods. I would've missed it had I not been concentrating so hard. There, where only seconds ago Edward and Victoria had been waging a seemingly endless war, was only one person standing. Except it was hardly a person. I saw a disfigured vampire, eyes gleaming red with hatred. Victoria.

Before I had time to respond, before I could even scream Edward's name, she was on me. The force of which she threw me to the ground knocked the breath out of me completely, and caused my head to smash violently against the rock. As soon as I was down, Victoria went in for the attack.

It happened all so quickly then, but I still could tell what was occurring. I saw a blur of red, and I felt and intense pain in my shoulder, an absolutely unbearable pain. I was sure she had intended to rip my arm right off, and then the rest of me, piece by piece, but her plan did not go as well. With Victoria's teeth still sunk into my arm, she was suddenly jerked away, jerking me with her. My breath seeming to find me again, I screamed in agony as I was thrown a few feet away, my arm bleeding and hanging limp beside me. From where I lay, crying from my arm, I could see the blurred movements of my angel and my devil, dancing again. But I was not able to watch much longer, for the fire that I knew was sure to come started consuming me. I screamed louder and in more pain than I had earlier when my arm was nearly ripped off. Now it was a scream that wished for death.

It began at my shoulder, and slowly spread outwards. _Edward!_ I screamed in my head, hoping for once that he could hear me. _Suck the venom out, Edward! Please, help me!_ But it was no use. Edward couldn't hear my thoughts, only my agonized screams. Seth couldn't help me either since he was battling with Riley. But what could Seth have done except kill me? I was alone, now and possibly forever. When the pain was over, and I was changed, would Edward be there? Would he survive his battle with Victoria?

I was suddenly pulled away from the panicky thoughts, as an explosion ricocheted through chest. I screamed, and screamed again. The venom had reached my heart. It was inevitable now. I was going to get what I wanted.


	2. Welcome To The Family

**(A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed the last chapter, even though it was terribly short. Oh well. I don't usually have short chapter unless necessity calls for it. :) And a nice little song that kinda goes along with Bella's change is Rebirthing by Skillet. )**

**If you want a better plot summary, here it is:**

**Bella's new life doesn't get off to a smooth start. When Jake tells Bella that if she broke the treaty, he'd have no choice but to kill her, she's devastated. But she becomes even more so when she actually does break it. Can she and the Cullens escape to Alaska before being killed by either the wolves or the enraged Volturi? **

Chapter Two

Welcome To The Family

Slowly but surely, my consciousness was returning. The pain was no longer so unbearable that my mind could not focus, but it was still dreadfully intense. As I clenched my teeth to keep from groaning, I realized I was no longer in the clearing. Where was I? I did not hear the familiar forest sounds, nor could I feel the icy cold breeze against my skin. I dared not open my eyes, afraid of seeing that evil and haunting face staring back at me. I was afraid to see her hair the color of fire, and those eyes the color of… blood. Instead, I listened through my agony and heard quick whispers coming from somewhere around me.

"What are we going to tell Charlie? It's going to look really odd when she never comes home." Who was that? Esme? I wanted to call out to her, but all that came out of my mouth was a weak and pitiful noise that I supposed was a whimper.

"I know, I know. We'll just have to think of something. Alice has worn the sleepover excuse out over the last three days to the point of suspicion. There are only two things that I can think of. One is to say that she ran off with Edward, but I'm sure Charlie would try and track them down. Two would be to fake her death and I would prefer not to use this route. It would be too painful for her parents." Carlisle, who I figured out was speaking, sighed.

I wanted to say, "Edward? How is he? Where is he?" But I couldn't. The only thing I could do was jerk and convulse as a shot of pain went through me. I rolled over violently, only to fall down onto something hard. Was it the floor? I rolled again, involuntarily, my back arching and both of my hands scratching at the air.

I felt someone's cool, granite hand rub my head soothingly, easing the pain, but only for a moment. "It'll all be over soon, Bella. I promise." Carlisle picked me up and carefully laid me down on something soft as he said, "I'm so sorry about all of this."

"Carlisle, it isn't that bad. She could have been dead, you know," Esme said pensively. "She's lucky that Edward got there when he did or else Victoria would have finished what she started."

Somewhere I heard a door open and then Jasper's concerned voice asked, "How much longer?"

"Anytime," Carlisle replied quietly. "Her eyes were red when I checked them this morning. It shouldn't be much longer."

So it had really been three days? Three days since the newborns came? Three days since my life was, in a way, taken from me? It didn't seem possible. I wanted to cry. But I couldn't. The tears would not come no matter how much I willed them to. I slowly rolled over and moaned. Why had this happened the way it did? I did want… this… but I didn't want it to be as violent as it was. I wanted Edward to be the one to do it, to embrace me lovingly while his venom ran through my veins, and I wanted him to hold my hand the entire time. But I hadn't heard him speak, which caused me to worry. Had Victoria prevailed? I shied away from the thought, afraid of what the answer would be. I didn't think I could exist without Edward. He was my entire life, my stone angel, and without him, what reason would I have to go on?

"Carlisle," Jasper said as he came farther into the room, "You know that faking Bella's death would be the only way out of this. To say she went to college would never fully explain her sudden and permanent absence. Charlie and Renee would always try to call, and not to mention the excuses for missing holidays. To say that she ran off with Edward would only result in a manhunt. Carlisle, you know we have to."

"Jasper's right," Esme said. I heard her come over to me, her bare feet making dull thuds as she approached and her skirt making swishing noises with every step. "She'll have to die to live," she said as she rubbed my cheek in a motherly way.

The room fell silent as everyone fell deep into thought. As Esme continued to comfort me, I began to notice something different. The pain… it was… dulling. With every stroke of Esme's hand against my face, the fire seemed to ease more and more. First my fingers, then my limbs, and lastly, with one final beat, my heart stopped. Forever. And I was left with a cold sensation all over my body. I lay there unmoving, not even breathing, like a statue whose only purpose was to remain unchanged for eternity so all of the generations to come could marvel at it. But I did not feel like a beautiful statue. I felt like a boulder placed in a field, all alone and vulnerable to the world's cruelties. But I knew that I could not lie there forever, and so I, the boulder, opened my eyes. The first thing I saw was Esme's heart-shaped face smiling down at me, her golden eyes sparkling with joy. I smiled softly, hardly feeling as overjoyed as looked.

"Welcome to the family," I heard Carlisle say sorrowfully, regret flooding his tone, from across the room. I rose up to a sitting position, and looked around. I discovered that I was in Edward's room on the bed he'd gotten explicitly for me and my human needs. I wouldn't need the bed anymore. At the foot of the now useless piece of furniture, I saw Carlisle looking at me. "I'm so sorry that all of this happened," he said.

Before I had a chance to reply, the door flew open and banged against the wall, revealing a mass of happy vampires. "Bella!" they all seemed to chime in unison, and before I knew it, Alice was next to me, squeezing me as tight as she could. "Oh Bella! I'm so glad you're okay!"

I laughed and hugged her back, saying, "I'm glad I'm okay, too." But in my heart, I wasn't so sure about how glad I really was.

"Stop being a Bella hog," Emmett said as he came over to me, much slower than Alice had, and grinned. "Glad to see that you're not as breakable, sis." Alice moved out of the way, and was replaced by Emmett, who actually picked me up off the bed and embraced me tightly.

"I'm sure that if I were a human, I would have been crushed into pieces a long time ago. You guys aren't being as gentle now, are you?" I was actually sure of it, because even though they were clutching me so strongly, I wasn't hurt at all.

Emmett sat me down and ruffled my hair. "Of course I'm not being gentle! You're not a pansy anymore!" Even Carlisle, who still seemed gloomy, laughed at this.

"But I think I'm going to miss my pansy," I heard Edward say. My eyes lit up when I saw him, and I ran to him, nearly knocking him over with my new strength and speed. I didn't notice my new features though, because Edward was the only thing on my mind.

"Edward! I've missed you so much!" I kissed him passionately, and for the first time, he did not hesitate to kiss me back. After a moment, I pulled away and looked into his warm golden eyes, and I smiled. "I love you," I whispered as I put my arms around him once again, dry sobs escaping from my body.

"I love you, too," he whispered into my ear as he planted feather light kisses on top of my head. He slowly pulled me off of him, and he gazed into my eyes. "Can you forgive me?"

Puzzled, I asked, "For what? You haven't done anything wrong."

"I let you die, Bella," he said. His face was sad and remorseful. "I… I couldn't save you. I tried so hard, but I just couldn't." It was his turn to cry then, and I gently touched his cheek to comfort him, much like Esme had earlier. "I wasn't there for you when you needed me, and now look what's happened."

"I'm not dead Edward. I'm right here and I'll always be here. Forever and for always. And as for what's happened," I paused, unsure of what to say now. Ever since the pain stopped, I found myself wondering why this had happened the way it had. True, I had wanted to become a vampire, but the way it had all turned out made me think twice about what I had wanted. I was now _clinically_ dead, my heart no longer beating inside of me, and I was now an eternal predator, doomed to ceaselessly stop the hearts of others. I would probably never see Charlie or Renee again, or at least not for a few years. Not to mention having to leave my human friends behind. I would never get to taste a greasy hamburger again, and if I did, it would probably taste like dirt. I sighed and said, "As for what's happened, it doesn't matter now. What's done is done, and now we have eternity to look forward to."

He smiled weakly at me and replied, "You're a horrible liar."

I laughed and said, "I honestly wish that it hadn't happened… this way, but it wasn't yours or anyone else's fault. It's just my rotten luck. But I am telling the truth about one thing, and that's the fact that now we'll always be together now." He didn't say anything. He looked down at me, faintly smiled, and walked over to the couch where he dejectedly sat down.

"Edward," Rosalie said. "Bella's right. We didn't want it to happen this way, but it did. You're going to have to stop beating yourself up over it and deal with this." I hadn't even noticed she was in the room until she spoke, and I looked around to find her behind me, smiling reassuringly. "Like the rest of us, it was either be changed or die. And I'm sure you'd prefer the way she is now more than you would if she were six feet under."

"Yeah," Jasper said. "And it's a lot easier for everyone now that she's one of us. You don't have to worry about me killing her anymore, or about her getting hurt."

"You don't understand!" Edward yelled, leaping up quickly. "It's not about what she is now! She was going to get this anyway! It's the fact that I wasn't there for her! She died because I wasn't good enough. I'll never be good enough for her!" And with that, he was gone. He ran out of the room, down the stairs, and I heard the front door slam shut behind him, leaving me alone. Again.


	3. Phone Call

**(A/N: I would like to say thanks to readerbug21 for being my proofer/editor/beta reader, and I'd like to thank my other friend who does not have an account, because they keep me writing. Lol. Oh, and sorry this took forever to get posted. I've ben adding and editing and all of that fun stuff. I've finally gotten this chapter decent enough to post I guess. Enough of the niceties now. Onto Chapter Three! )**

Chapter Three

Phone Call

I stood there, staring dumbfounded at the doorway. It wasn't like Edward to run out like that, especially at a time like this, when I needed him. But he had seemed so upset, and I could understand why he felt the way he did, to some extent. But to leave me alone again? He promised he wouldn't do that to me again. I shook my head, confused. "I've got to go find him," I whispered. My feet were moving before I even knew what I was doing, and in hardly a second I was downstairs.

"No," I heard someone say behind me before I was tackled to the ground.

"Let me go!" I screamed, angry at whoever had me pinned down. I thrashed under their weight, but they wouldn't let me go. "I've got to find Edward!"

"No Bella," Alice said calmly. She glided over to me where she bent over and looked me in the eye, her topaz eyes filled with a seriousness that I rarely saw in her. "It's not safe for you to just run out. As a fledgling, you could hurt someone, or worse."

I stopped trying to resist, and I lay there on the floor, staring ahead. I felt the weight lift off of me and then, to my surprise, Esme picked me up off the floor and said, "Sorry about that, Bella."

I shook my head. "No, no, it's okay. I should have had enough sense not to try to do that." I smiled to them and made my way to the sofa where I sat cross-legged, looking around. From the amount of light coming in through the window, I could tell that it was somewhere around noon, possibly a bit after. Edward was stupid to have run out on a sunny day, but I was sure that he'd know enough to stay in the forest.

I sighed looked from the window to Alice, who'd come to sit beside me on the sofa, her head leaned against my arm. "Alice, will you go find Edward for me?" She looked up at me, and pondered it for a moment.

"You know he'll come back. He just needs to sort out what he's feeling," she said after a while. "Edward can get really… moody, at times. He'll come around on his own time."

I nodded. "I know, but I would still feel better if he were here."

She nodded to me and smiled. "I'll go get him for you, then."

"Thank you," I whispered as she turned and sped away.

"I wonder where he went to," Jasper pondered. He shrugged then. "In any case, they shouldn't be gone very long." He looked at me, his face becoming more somber. "Bella, Edward had told me that he wanted to be with you for your first hunt. Do you think you could wait until they get back?"

It took me a while to understand what he meant, but then it hit me. All of this time, ever since my heart stopped beating, I had felt a faint yearning for something deep in the pit of my stomach. I had paid it no attention to it until Jasper had said that. I hadn't really had the much time to pay attention to it. But it was such a peculiar feeling, always feeling the need to drink; always having the hollow ache in your throat. Not to mention to steady flow of the venom in my mouth. All of these things were alien to me, and yet I knew what it al meant. But the thirst was faint at the moment, though I knew it could only get worse. "I think I can wait," I said smiling. "It's not bad."

"It's probably from her repulsion of blood as human," Carlisle chimed in, pondering on his theory. "Most newborns are crazy with thirst from the beginning, but you, Bella, you don't seem the least bit concerned with it right now." He smiled at me. "You probably won't need to feed as often, if I were guessing."

I breathed a sigh of relief despite the fact that I didn't need to breathe now. "That makes me feel better, Carlisle. You don't even have any idea how happy I am."

"But that doesn't mean that you won't have to feed at all. The feeling is still there, isn't it?" I nodded. "Like I said, you'll just have to feed less often." Carlisle paused, then said, "Do you have any questions… about all of this?"

"A few, but I know the basics." He nodded. "What happened after Victoria attacked me? What's happened in the last three days?"

Carlisle and Esme came and sat next to me on the couch, while my 'siblings' went upstairs, leaving me alone to talk with the doctor and his wife. After they left, Carlisle looked at me and began the story. "After Victoria attacked you, Edward destroyed Victoria. Seth took care of Riley, of course. But Edward was so distraught when he brought you to us. He was blaming himself so much because he couldn't protect you from Victoria." Carlisle paused then, looking at me thoughtfully. "He really loves you, you know. When I wanted to examine you, he wouldn't even let me come near you. He held you in his arms and refused to let anyone get near you.

"But anyway, Alice had had a vision of the Volturi coming, and so the wolves left when I told them that the Volturi were probably not going to uphold the treaty we had. So within minutes, they were there, Jane, Felix, Demetri and one of the guard. They had been coming to take care of the newborns and were disappointed that we'd already done their job for them. But Jane was pleased to see you screaming in pain, nonetheless. She said that Aro would be happy to hear that, and before they all left, Jane said that they would be back soon."

"How soon?" I asked, uneasy about having to see the red-eyed-monsters from Volterra again.

"She didn't say, and Alice hasn't had a vision revealing the date yet."

"Oh," I said. "Well, what happened afterwards?"

"Well, we brought you back here. Alice keeps telling Charlie that you're staying the night, but he's getting suspicious. But other than all of this, nothing else has happened. Edward has stayed by your side the whole time though. It was a miracle that I got him to go downstairs to do something for me when you woke up. That's why he wasn't there beside you."

"Oh," Esme said suddenly, "You need to call Charlie to let him know we've not kidnapped you." She laughed and put the phone next to me on the couch and pushed the speakerphone button. "It's not a wise idea to try to touch anything right now," she said. "You might crush it. So tell me the number to where he's at and I'll dial it for you."

I gave her the number to where he worked, knowing that it was too early for him to be home yet. It rung two times before someone answered, and I asked for Chief Swan. As I waited, a dozen thoughts raced through my head. What am I going to tell him? What had everyone else told him since _it_ happened? I was worrying about this later thought when Charlie's voice came over the phone.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hey Dad," I said weakly, still unsure of what all I should say. I looked to Carlisle and Esme, and they nodded encouragingly.

"Bella! I've been wondering what you've been up to. It seems like I've not heard from you in a whole week! Every time I call, you're asleep or out shopping with Alice!"

I faked a laugh. "Yeah, Alice is so happy about graduating that she's dragged me to every store she could find. But don't worry, she's doing all of the spending, not me."

"I feel like a burden's been lifted off of my shoulders now that I've heard that." I giggled. "So, how have you been?"

I lied and said, "Fine, fine. All of us rented a scary movie last night, and so we've all been paranoid ever since."

"Really? I called last night and Esme said that you were asleep."

I froze. My eyes darted to Esme, and I begged for her help. She only shrugged.

"Bella? Bella, are you there?"

"Oh, yeah. Uh, I woke up later though, cause I couldn't, uh, stay asleep, and everyone else was awake, so we, uh, decided to watch the movie." Esme nodded to me in approval.

"Oh, okay then. Will you be home tonight? I was hoping we could have a little father-daughter time. We never really get to do that anymore."

My mind scrambled for an answer. I couldn't just turn him down. It would crush him completely. And I surely couldn't say, 'yes'. That would be a danger to his life! I grabbed my head and shook it in frustration. _Why? Why do you have to ask this now? _

"Hello? Are you still here?"

"Yeah, Dad," I whispered.

I looked to Carlisle, and I was shocked to see him nodding, yes. "What?" I mouthed. "Are you serious?!" "Just say you'll come home in three days," he replied silently, his eyes begging for me to trust him.

Without any others thoughts, I said, "Uh, I can't tonight. I promised Alice I would help her with something. How about in three days?"

"Three days? That's a long way off. I kinda had plans to take you out to dinner tonight at the Lodge."

"Well, you can always do that later, can't you? I mean, I'm really sorry, but Alice needs my help with this and I already promised her I would."

"Well, I suppose I can put if off." There was a pause, and then Charlie said, "Bella, I have to go. I just got a report in and I have to tend to it."

"Okay, bye Dad."

And with that, he hung up, and Esme turned the phone off for me.

"I can't go see Charlie in three days!" I jumped of the couch and began pacing rapidly. "I'll kill him! I can't leave this house! Carlisle, what were you thinking? Oh, what are we going to do?"

Esme came to me and put her hands on my shoulders. "Listen to me," she said solemnly. "I'm sure you heard us talking earlier about what to tell Charlie." I nodded. "We're just going to have to kill you, then, aren't we?"

My eyes widened in realization. I moaned and embraced her. Frightened, I whispered, "I don't want to put him through that." I remembered everything I'd already put him through. Running off, reopening the old wounds of him and mom, becoming a mindless zombie, forcing him to endure Edward's presence. My death would be the last straw for him! I let a dry sob escape my lips and I hugged Esme tighter.

"It's going to be okay, sweetie. But it's the only way. Today or tomorrow, we'll tell Charlie that something's happened. I don't know what yet, but we'll figure something out. We'll have to stay long enough for the funeral, and then we'll leave as quickly as possible. We'll go far away, away from humans, and then we'll all help you through this."

I pulled away and looked into Esme's kind and loving face, searching for the truth in her words. She looked so trusting, so dependable. _Yeah, everything will be all right, _I thought finally. _Esme wouldn't lie to me. This will all turn out for the best. Carlisle, Alice, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Esme, all of them, they would be by me every step of the way. _

"Now," she said. "Carlisle and I going to go back upstairs and talk with everyone else. They've all migrated to Carlisle's office. We need to figured out a suitable way to go about faking your death. Just sit down, relax, and don't move, okay? Edward and Alice should be back soon, and they'll take you hunting."

With one final encouraging smile, she headed upstairs with the doctor. I hugged my knees to my chest and stared out of the window, becoming a pensive boulder again, neither moving nor breathing.


	4. Thirst Is Taking Over

(A/N: The last chappie wasn't the greatest, I know. But, shrugs. It was something, I suppose. A song that goes good with this chappie is The Thirst Is Taking Over by Skillet. Don't own Skillet, or the song, and I borrowed the title of the song for the title of this chappie.)

**Chapter Four**

**Thirst Is Taking Over**

I sat there unmoving, listening to my new family talk. All the way downstairs I could hear them as clear as day. I knew that it was because of my enhanced senses, but it still made me grin. Not only was my hearing so acute that I could hear a fly buzzing outside, but also my vision was so clear that I could spot tiny specs of dust floating in the air. I hadn't really had much time to think about how… different I felt. I'd barely been a Cullen for ten minutes and things had already gone haywire. In any case, I had plenty of time to think about how different I felt now. Apart from my amazingly heightened senses, I physically felt different. I, like Edward, felt like a cold granite statue. I poked myself a couple times, unsurprised at what I felt. I was not so squishy as I used to be, so I supposed that that was good. I stopped poking myself, already tired of the monotony of it, and went back to listening.

I heard Carlisle sigh. "So how is she going to die?"

"She could get into a car wreck," Rosalie said tentatively. "No, no, that wouldn't work. Bella's truck is at her house, and I know none of us are willing to wreck our cars and die with her."

"That's true. And they'd also except to find a body, which they wouldn't."

"She could be attacked by some wild animal," Emmett offered.

"They would still try to find a body. It's unlikely that an animal would eat the bones and all."

"Oh yeah."

I sighed, tired of hearing their depressing ideas. It reminded me of how much hurt I was about to subject Charlie to. Trying to divert my attention , I decided to think about something else. _Being… this… isn't all that bad, I suppose. I mean, I've already discovered how fast I am now, and not to mention my strength when I nearly knocked Edward off of his feet earlier... Edward… where is he? Alice should have come back by now. I hope nothing's happened to him. I mean, I'm sure he can take care of himself, but… Oh, what does it matter. I should be mad at him for abandoning me. I could care less about him 'letting me die', but he should be here with me right now. Well, he has a _long_ time to make it up._ I suppressed a giggle as I pondered the silly things that I could make him do. _But once I see him again, I'll probably forget I'm mad at him. He's too perfect to stay mad at for long._

As I sat there thinking, still as a rock, as the faint sensation at the back of my throat and in the pit of my stomach grew in its intensity. It still wasn't so bad that I couldn't control it, but every few moments, my thoughts wandered back to the feeling. _I hope Edward and Alice get back soon,_ I thought as I tried not to dwell on my thirst.

Minutes passed by, and my family was still trying to come up with suitable ways to kill me, and then those minutes turned into grueling hours. The sun had gone lower into the sky, and the death talk upstairs had turned into a heated debate. I barely noticed what they were saying. I lay there on the couch, hugging myself tightly as I stared at the wall. _So…thirsty…_ My throat burned and every muscle in my body was tensed. It was all that I could do to not run into the forest. I even imagined myself attacking a human, and the vision was so clear and violent that I was momentarily shocked that I could think such gory things. But the image was so… inviting. My entire being yearned to hunt, I needed to make that image true. But I didn't. I couldn't. Not only because I envisioned myself attacking a human, but because Edward wanted to be with me for this and I wasn't going to cheat him out of it. So I suffered in silence, staring at my spot on the wall, my thoughts barely in the realm of coherency, as the battle raged upstairs.

"Bella! Bella, look at me!"

My eyes darted this way and that, trying to focus on every movement in the room at once, and my head ached from trying to listen to every miniscule sound. My body was quivering at the effort to control myself. _**Kill. Hunt. Feed. Blood. Massacre. Attack. Stalk. Chase. Drain. Slaughter. Pursue. Destroy. Rip to pieces.**_My thoughts were so focused on one thing that I couldn't comprehend the alien and unnecessarily loud words being shouted in my ear.

"Bella," someone said slowly. "Listen to my voice, just focus on me."

Who **–**_**thirst-**_ was _–__**hunt**__- _that?

"Bella, come on, focus on me."

I closed my eyes and forced myself to stop shaking, forced my body to obey my command. My throat was on fire, and my stomach was about to punch out of my body, but I forced the thoughts of it all away. _I am in control_, I thought shakily, unsure of the depth of my control.

"Bella, listen to me, its Edward. We're going to take you hunting now, okay?"

I nodded, my eyes still clenched shut. "Edward," I whispered. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know, I know." I felt his cool hand grab my own and pull me to my feet. "Now let's go."

"We're coming with you, Edward." I heard the entire Cullen coven chime in, saying that they wanted to come as well.

I shook my head. "No, I'd rather not have an audience." I opened my eyes slowly to see all of my family gathered around me, their eyes apologetic. I could tell that they had not meant for me to get in this shape, but I'd already forgiven them. It wasn't their fault. It was Edward who I had been waiting for. If it hadn't been for him, I would have spoken up long ago. But I felt slightly embarrassed by this strange, new desire. It was like I was a rookie swimmer being pushed into a pool full of Olympians, and I was afraid to swim. It would be less overpowering if there were a minimal amount of Olympians present.

Edward nodded slightly. "Edward and Jasper are coming though, whether you like it or not." He stepped closer to me, kissed my forehead like he had so many other times before, and pulled away to smile at me encouragingly. "Are you ready?"

"Dumb question," I replied, my control slightly slipping now that I knew what I was about to do. My body was tingling with the desire, and I knew if I could see my eyes that they would be pitch black. I shoved the thought away and followed Edward and my brothers out the door, trying to keep my legs walking at the same _slow_ and steady, human pace that they were using.

I glanced at the sky to see that much time had passed since I had awoken. It was nearly dusk now, but there was still enough light for the four of us to sparkle like polished diamonds. I grinned as I looked at my skin, but before I knew it, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett took off into the woods. The moment my feet began to move, to go after them, I changed. I was no longer Bella. All my memories of being a human seemed to fade away as I raced forward. I was running so fast, trees whizzing by, but I could still see them with amazing clarity, every patch of moss, every twig. When something would get in the way of my feet, I would jump over it or avoid without even thinking about what I was doing.

I had caught up to the others, and the four of us ran in a relatively straight line. That was, until something hit my nose. I stopped and tried to figure out what it was. It smelled faintly sweet. It didn't smell very appetizing, but at the same time, my mind was telling me to follow it, and my body wanted to obey.

As I stood there confused, Emmett whispered, "She smells it, doesn't she?"

"Yeah. I wonder what she'll do?"

Almost as soon as those words came out of Jasper's mouth, I began running. I was curious as to what this scent was and my desire for it was strong. The trees thinned out quickly as I ran by, and soon I spotted it. A snarl ripped through my chest, and once again, my thoughts were incoherent as I attacked.


	5. Unexpected Arrival

(A/N: So, yeah. I hope you guys like this story. I would really appreciate it if you would review and tell me how close to the charries and the books I am. And if you have anything to suggest or nit-pick about, feel free. sigh This is going to be quite annoying though, because I'm wanting to do all of these things, but I can't find a place to put them, and I'm like, Gah! And by the way, if you're curious, this story will probably take place over the period of about 7-9 days. And I'll try to update once or twice a week, depending on how busy me is. Lol Now back to the story!)

Chapter Five

Unexpected Arrival

The poor doe didn't know what had hit her. The scent was so strong around it that it made me crazy, causing me to forget Edward, Jasper, and Emmett following behind me. It made me forget everything about being human and about having morals and ethics. That was all gone. I lunged, and before the deer was able to look up in alarm, I was on top of it. I snapped its neck straight away, and it thrashed violently under me for a few seconds before becoming motionless under my body, and then I sank my teeth into the brown hair, penetrating the skin, and I drank.

The moment that that beautiful crimson liquid hit my tongue, I felt intoxicated by its taste. It was sweet, a bit bland, but it was welcomed nonetheless. I couldn't seem to get enough. I drank, and I drank, and I drank, until no matter how hard I tried, I could get no more of the wonderful elixir to come.

I lifted my head up, brushed away the deer hair on my face, and licked my lips greedily. I stood there, disoriented for a minute or two, before my mind calmed down _slightly_. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and backed away. Someone's cool arms enclosed around me, and their lips gently brushed my hair, soothing me. I welcomed their comfort as I stared horrified at the carcass lying in front of me, its body thin and frail looking from the complete lack of blood and its eyes forever staring dully ahead.

"It's a hard life, Bella, we know. But you'll get used to it after a while."

I turned around to see Edward looking down at me, a forced smile upon his face. "I don't think I'll ever get used to being a killer. But if that's what I have to be to exist coeternally with you, then I'll just have to accept it, won't I? Besides, I wanted this."

He didn't say anything in response to this. He just stood there, holding me close to him. Finally, he broke the silence and said, "Come on. I doubt you've had your fill."

I nodded. The thirst was no longer controlling me, but I still needed to satiate it. So Edward, Jasper, and I started running again as Emmett buried the carcass. I inhaled the scents of the forest and smiled. I could smell all sorts of animals, but none of them sweet enough to cause me to attack. I ran until the scent of another deer hit me, and I turned in that direction quickly. Now that I had a target, my instincts took over. Within seconds, I had spotted it, and I went crazy once again. I caught a blur of movement in the corner of my eye, and growled. Whatever it was was keeping pace with me, and I wasn't about to let whatever it was that was followed me to get to that deer before me. Within seconds, I tackled the deer to the ground, and in my determinedness, I violently ripped at the throat, not even bothering to snap its neck to ease its pain. I consumed the wonderful liquid quickly and pulled away when I was done. The thirst was nearly gone now, and my body and mind were calm. I stepped back and took a deep breath, but I froze as soon as I inhaled.

"What is that smell!?" It smelled so horrible, unlike anything I'd ever smelled before. I turned around to see Edward, Jasper, and Emmett, who had caught up, tensed and looking at something. I followed their eyes and then I understood why so much tension.

Jake was standing there, ten feet away, his skin rippling and his teeth clenched. He was staring at _all_ of us with such vehemence that I was actually surprised that he hadn't transformed yet. His eyes were narrowed at us, his breathing heavy, his black hair in disarray around his face.

"Jake," I whispered, as I took a step forward. Edward put a restraining hand on me, but I shrugged it off. Jacob wouldn't attack me. Would he? He loved me. I took another step forward, my arms outstretched, hoping to comfort him because I knew this had to be hard for him, but instead of accepting my stony embrace, he took one step back.

"No, stay away from me." He glared, and I could tell how much effort it was taking him not to attack. "Stay away," he repeated as he grabbed his head, shaking it from side to side.

I obeyed and walked back to Edward, but my eyes never left Jacob's. "Please, Jake. Don't do this."

He shook his head, tears threatening to come to his eyes. He looked to the mangled deer, then back to me and shook his head again. "Don't look so surprised. You're a bloodsucker, now. It's in my nature to hate you."

"You don't mean it," I whispered, horrified. I began slowly walking towards Jake again, hoping that I could prove to him that I was still Bella, to an extent. I was trying to remember all the good times Jake and I had together, so that I could remind him… but I couldn't. I furrowed my brows in frustration, searching my mind for anything. I remembered Jake, I remembered what he was, and I remembered that he was my friend, and that I loved him to an extent and he loved me. But… no matter how hard I tried; I couldn't remember anything else about him.

As I fought to remember, I kept walking forward. This time Jake didn't say anything. He just stood there, watching me with a frown. I got within touching distance and smiled despite my confusion and irritation. "I'm still Bella, Jake."

He shook his head and backed away. "No you're not! My Bella died when her bloodsucker boyfriend couldn't protect her!" I heard Edward growl from behind me, and I turned and leered at him. He started to walk forward, and I could tell he was itching to fight. He looked every part the vampire then, vicious and dangerous. I shook my head at him, and he stopped his advance, but still glared maliciously at Jacob.

I turned my attention back to the present issue and warmly said, "Jake, I could be dead. Edward stopped Victoria before she ripped me to pieces. I'm alive because of him!" I reached out to touch him but I recoiled from the heat of his skin. It burned and it was all I could do not to attack him. I slight snarl escape my mouth as I held my hand protectively. I didn't know why, perhaps it was instinct from being so near a werewolf, or perhaps it was because I'd just gotten hurt, but I had to restrain myself from killing him. None of the Cullens had ever told me that touching a werewolf would burn! I looked frantically around at Edward, and he noticed me holding my hand. He looked sympathetic, but didn't move. I turned back around to Jacob, once I got calmed down. Hopefully Jake didn't notice my inner turmoil.

He obviously didn't, for he replied, furiously screaming, "He should have let you die! You'd be better that way" He fell to his knees and gripped his head, his body convulsing. I stood there horrified as I watched him. He slowly looked up, tears running down his cheeks and he said, "Remember this, Bella. If its you who breaks the treaty, I'll have no choice but to kill you." As soon as those famous last words were uttered, Jacob seemed to explode before my eyes to be replaced by a russet wolf. It growled at me menacingly before running off into the forest, kicking up leaves and debris from the forest floor as it went.

I stared at the spot where Jake had just been and I couldn't find the will to move. It seemed as if everyone I loved kept leaving me today. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't. I felt a calming wave come over me, and I turned to look towards Jasper.

"Sorry," he said. "I couldn't take feeling like that anymore."

"It's okay," I whispered before I walked back to Edward who consoled me.

"Bella, let's get home, okay? I'm sure everyone's getting worried."

Even though Jasper's wave of calm still reigned over me, it didn't stop me from thinking. So as Edward picked me up and cradled me in his arms, I thought the entire way back of why Jacob would rather me be dead, and why I couldn't remember a lot of things. I sighed and rested my head against Edward's stone chest and listening to his even breaths, which comforted me. If I could, I would have went to sleep in his loving arms, forever content. But I would never sleep again.


	6. The Death Plot

**(A/N:** Okay guys, don't freak out. I know that this story is coming off to be an anti-Jake story, but its not. I can't tell you too much or else it'll ruin the ending, so just keep in mind that this isn't anti-Jake. Please don't hit me. Lol. Oh, and the plan I came up with on faking Bella's death is really weak and stupid, but I've been racking my brain for a better idea and I can't come up with anything better. I know, its stupid. I mean, I didn't want to burn the house down or blow up one of the cars. The house is too important and the cars are too pretty. :D lol Anywho, yeah. Onto the story! Oh, and sorry for the lack of detail and the bland dialogue in this chap. I have a twinge of writer's block.

**Chapter Six**

**The Death Plot**

In no time it seemed like we were at the house. It was too soon for me. I never wanted to leave Edward's arms again. I looked up into his amber eyes and smiled. I had yet to see my reflection, but I knew what color my eyes would be. Crimson red. I longed for the day to come when I could look at myself and see eyes the color of the golden sun, to know I wasn't as much of a monster as I could be. To know that I could be a little less ashamed of what I was, and to know that I looked so much more like Edward.

He looked down and noticed my staring and kissed my head as he followed Emmett and Jasper into the house. "I love you," he murmured affectionately into my ear. "Don't ever forget that."

"Bella! I'm so sorry!" I looked away from Edward to see Alice standing there in front of us, along with everyone else, their eyes filled with hurt and sympathy. "I saw what happened with Jake. I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

Edward gently put me on my feet and I paused in responding, searching for the right words to say. Was I okay? I was sure that I would have been more distraught had I been able to remember more about him. It was saddening, yes, to know that he wished me dead, but I wasn't that upset about it. And after touching him, his skin burning mine, I had instinctively wanted to attack. I reflexively looked down to where I'd touched him to see flawless skin, smooth and pale: without injury. I shook my head, and went back my thoughts. I was sure that he'd been wanting to attack me as well, probably ever since the moment he spotted my pale form crouched over the deer, draining it of its life. So why was it so shocking for me to feel the same way. I could now fully understand now why the two species couldn't get along. It wasn't because of stupid prejudices. It was because… well… because it was meant to be.

I snapped out of my reverie to see every one staring quizzically at me. "Oh," I said. "Sorry, I was thinking. But I actually… I don't feel that bad about it. I don't know why, but when I was trying to talk to him, I was also trying to remember the good times we had. But I couldn't. It's like all of my specific memories have been sucked away. And when I touched him… it burned." I whispered this last thought, remembering the searing pain.

"I know," Alice said. "I could see how hard you were trying not to kill him."

I shook my head. "I just don't understand why I can't remember. On the way back here, I was trying to remember some other things, too. I can recall almost everything having to do with you guys, and I remember a lot about Charlie and Renee, but everything else is blank. It's like my entire life… never really happened… but I know it did."

Carlisle, who'd been there the whole time, spoke up and calmly said, "When you're changed, most of your human memories fade away. But I _am_ surprised how much you actually still remember."

I only looked toward him and nodded. "But it does hurt," I added, "to know that he's willing to kill me."

Esme came over to me and embraced me in her motherly way and said, "But he won't ever have a reason to kill you. As long as the treaty is in tact, you'll be fine."

I nodded, but I was still disturbed by the thought. I shoved the idea away, and in an attempt to change the subject, said, "Have you guys finally settled on a way to fake my death? I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

"Actually," Carlisle replied as he led everyone into the living room where he sat down in an overstuffed chair, "we have. Tomorrow morning, sometime around eight o'clock, we'll call Charlie and we're going to tell him that you and Edward have gone missing. The story is that the two of you left around five o'clock to go to Aletta Beach."

"Why Aletta Beach? That's almost three hours away," Emmett asked, curious. I too, was curious. Surely another closer beach could have been just as good?

"Because that particular area has a lot of seaside cliffs," Esme said grinning. "Hopefully, they'll get the idea that Bella fell off one of them and into the water below, and Edward dived in after her. They should figure that out because we're going to take one of Bella's shirts and rip it up and plant it over there, and we'll put some of Edward's shoes over there as well. Also, rescue workers won't expect to find any bodies because they know that your bodies would have already been taken out into deep water, which means that they would be at the mercy of all kinds of animals. That way they won't get too suspicious when no corpses show up."

"Wow," Edward said coolly. "I'm impressed. It gives us a way to avoid Charlie trying to sue us. He can also accept what happened because he has some idea of what occurred. And most importantly we don't have to blow any of our cars up."

"You said it, Brother!" Emmett laughed as he high-fived Edward. "Long live the cars!"

I grinned at the two of them. As hard as causing my own father to uselessly grieve would be, I knew that I would be able to accept it. Edward would be with me every step of the way, as would the rest of my family. Nevertheless, had I been changed as planned, perhaps 'dying' could have been avoided for a while. I could have first moved to 'college' and Edward would change me then. But due to my wondrous luck, it hadn't turned out that way. I'd been abruptly bitten, nearly killed, leaving us all with little time to prepare. It seemed as if hurting Charlie would be the only way.

I sighed and leaned my head against Edward's cool shoulder. Ever since the change, he didn't seem as cold anymore. He seemed… normal. I supposed it was because of my own drop of body temperature, but who was I to define what normal was anymore? I was engaged vampire whose ex-best friend was a werewolf just itching to destroy me completely. I was miles away from knowing what normal was.

"Bella?" Alice asked quietly from across the room. "What's the matter?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. I was just thinking about all of this."

"Bella, you know this has to be done. You shouldn't think about it too much or you'll do something stupid." I glared at Rosalie for that comment.

"I know it has to be done. I was just thinking about how much this would hurt Charlie." I shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter though." I snuggled closer to Edward. "I have a new family now, and that should be what I focus my attention on."

(A:N/ (Again) I fear that Bella may be getting a bit OOC, and if you think she is, I'm really sorry. I'll try not to make her too OOC too often.)


	7. The New Bella

(**A/N**: dives into bomb shelter PLEASE don't kill me! I know I've not updated in five months, and I know that I could sit here and right a million excuses about why I didn't updated, and while all of those million excuses would be true, there's really only two reasons. 1) I got a teeny bit lazy… Ok, more than a teeny bit… 2) I was going through a 'my writing sucks stage'. And now, after reading what I'd written (reading something I hadn't looked at in five months) I see that it's not crap, and that it's actually pretty good, and therefore, I'M BACK! But this chapter might be, I don know, kind of weird. I've forgotten most of my storyline that I'd originally had, so, this chapter is mainly so I can get back into the swing of things and all that jazz. lol.)

(A/N Part Two:) I've edited this chapter since posting it. So if read chapter seven on the 27 of February, it's been changed since then. And what used to be Chapter Eight, The Reveal, has been added to this chapter since both installments were a bit too short. :) So, all better now. )

**Chapter Seven**

**The New Bella**

I watched with a half-hearted interest as they all dispersed, each going to do what needed to be done. Emmett and Rosalie were given the task of driving Edward's car up to Aletta Beach and parking it up there, as well as planting my shirt, Edward's shoes, and a few other tidbits on the surrounding beach. I don't think Edward was very keen on the idea, since he kept reminding them to lock it and park it where it wouldn't roll away. Emmett seemed to find it funny and kept thinking of pushing the car into the water himself, which would earn a slap from Edward. I laughed at this.

Carlisle went to the hospital to do a few things. He said he would come back late that night, so he could 'discover that we were missing', since everyone else would be 'asleep' and would be oblivious to the fact that 'we hadn't come home'. Carlisle said that our story needed to be as airtight as possible, so no suspicion could be placed on them, and that meant him actually going to the hospital to have an alibi. I agreed completely. Having to fake Edward's death and mine was bad enough, but I would feel even worse if Charlie even suspected one of the Cullens of doing something. Carlisle also said that once the memorial for us was over, that we were going to go to Alaska. The reason would be that Forks held too many memories, and that it was best if they just left Forks altogether.

Jasper decided that he was going to go and hunt since he didn't want to hurt any of the humans that were sure to come calling throughout the following days. I didn't blame him. So many people would be coming, asking questions, offering condolences, bringing flowers, and so on. I was sure that none of them were planning on visiting and then getting eaten by the grieved brother. Before he left, he had come over to me and given me a huge hug. "I've not had a chance to do that yet," he said. "I'm glad that you're one of us now. Now I don't have to worry about… about hurting you when I'm around you." I could tell that he was remembering the incident during my eighteenth birthday. I just dismissed it and returned his embrace.

On the case of me and my own thirst, Carlisle had decided that it was best that Edward take me somewhere away from humans during the day. We would return to the house once one of the family members called and announced that it was safe. I didn't have much of a problem with the plan since I would be able to spend it with Edward. I doubted that any humans would be wandering in the woods in the middle of nowhere, therefore I guessed that it would be safe enough to venture out of the house.

So Esme, Alice, Edward and I, were left at the house as the others went about their tasks. I felt so useless in all of this, and more than a little guilty. But when I would ask if there was anything that I could do, Esme would smile and shake her head, saying, "You don't need to worry about it, sweetie. It'll all turn out for the best." I prayed that she was right. I couldn't stand it if something else went wrong.

By that time, the sun had set and night was in full swing. I found it a little weird that I wasn't at all tired, but I knew that I wouldn't ever be tired again. I got up from where I sat in Edward's lap on the sofa, and walked to the window, gazing at the world around me. Everything was so clear, so… so perfect, that I found it so hard to believe that everything in my life had gone awry. It was too hard to imagine the fact that I'd nearly been killed, and that Edward had nearly gotten himself killed as well trying to protect me. No, looking outside with my new vision made me temporarily forget about all that had gone wrong. All I could think about was my new eternity.

"Edward," I said quietly, still looking out of the window, "everything is so beautiful at night. It's so serene, and calm. Does it always look like this?"

I heard him chuckle and before I knew it, he was beside me. I jumped a little, still surprised at the speed after all this time, even though I too could move as fast as he. He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head upon my shoulder. "I wouldn't know. For the last couple of years, I've not paid any attention to the night. I've been with you, and watching you sleep is beautiful enough in itself."

I smiled and turned around to face him, and gazed into his topaz eyes. He was so beautiful, and yet again I forgot to breathe. But this time I didn't need to. This time I could hold my breath forever as I gazed upon his immaculate beauty. He looked into my eyes as well and after a moment, laughed. "Oh Bella, if only you knew the effect you have on me. I was dazzled by you when you were human, and now, I'm finding it so hard to think when I'm looking at you."

I grinned and said, "It's sounding as if you're starting to like the idea of me being a vampire."

His smile faded a bit at that, and his eyes became sad again. He sighed. "No, I'll never like the idea, Bella. I don't like it even more so now because of how it happened. You knew that I fought this, fought to keep you human I mean. I never wanted this for you, ever. But now…" He looked away, pain filling his features.

I cupped my hands on his face and made him look at me. "Edward Anthony Mason Cullen, I don't want to hear that anymore. I didn't want this to happen the way it did either, but it did, and that's that. I don't want you blaming yourself about this, okay? If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even be here now. And as far as you not wanting this for me, it doesn't matter. I wanted this for me because I love you. I've wanted this for a long time, and you and me both know that I was going to get wanted I wanted eventually. So I don't want to hear you moping about it anymore because so many more good things will come out of this than bad. Okay?"

He forced a smile and nodded. "Come on, let's go upstairs, I want to show you something."

I heard Alice, who'd migrated upstairs long ago, say, "It's about time." I laughed.

"What are you going to show me?"

He took my hand and I saw genuine happiness brighten up his face again, and he said, "It's a surprise."

I couldn't help but giggle once I got upstairs because Edward and I had just ran up the stairs in about a second. Now that I wasn't focused on my thirst like I had been earlier, I was able to really notice my speed, and it was amazing. When I was running with Edward, Emmett, and Jasper in the woods, I wasn't fully myself, but now, I was aware of what was going on. It was like I'd made it to the top of the stairs without really moving. It was astounding!

Edward looked at me and grinned. "Being what we are does have a _few_ perks, I suppose."

Esme laughed. "Indeed it does."

"Enough chit chat! Come on, Bella," Alice said as she grabbed my hand and drug me into her room. "I've been wanting to show you ever since your change was over, but I haven't had a chance yet. Now come on!"

I looked at Edward, and then at Esme, who both refused to give me a single hint. I glanced at little Alice warily, afraid of what she wanted to show me. Knowing her, it was some celebratory _dress_ or something horrendous like that. "Please, Alice," I begged, "let me enjoy my first day as the new me! Don't torture me!"

Edward came up behind me and said, "Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think."

I groaned. "Now come on," Alice said.

We were in her and Jasper's room now, and we were standing in front of the bathroom door. This was not going to be good. Too many makeovers happened in that room. She opened the bathroom door and led me in, followed by Esme and then a grinning Edward. She placed me in front of her full-length mirror, which was covered by a big navy sheet. That's when I understood what she was doing.

"Ready to see yourself?" I nodded. And with that, dramatically jerked the sheet away with a big flourish, and I gasped when I saw myself. I slowly approached the mirror, my hand floating up to touch my face. I couldn't believe what I was seeing was me… My hair didn't look much different, but it did possess such a sheen that I'd never been able to achieve as a human. My skin was paler than it had been before, if that was possible. Not a single flaw or mark upon her face. I seemed to be a bit taller than I remembered myself being. But I seemed… more refined, more elegant than I ever could have imagined myself being. My cheekbones were more noticeable, and my eyes were turned at a more attractive angle. I looked as beautiful as those in my new family. I looked like I belonged…

It was then that I noticed the clothes I was wearing weren't mine, but Esme's. The outfit I'd been wearing when I was attacked must've been thrown away due to the blood that was probably on it. But, unfortunately, once I'd got done looking at my body, it knew that there was one thing left to see. My eyes. I took a deep breath, even though I was unnecessary, and I looked at my eyes. They were not as bright red as I'd expected them to be, but more of a burgundy color. They reminded me of V… of Victoria's red eyes… of the Volturi's eyes… The eyes of all the monsters of my life…

I was so caught up in those horrible eyes staring back at me that I hadn't noticed Edward come over to me. He lightly kissed the top of my head and hugged me tightly. "Don't worry, Bella. They'll be golden in no time." I smiled at him, but I knew better. It would take a whole year before that wretched color would fade. I looked back at the mirror one last time, careful to avoid my eyes, and then I turned away from it.

Alice and Esme looked at me warmly. "What do you think, dear? Quite a change isn't it?" I nodded to my new mother.

"I think I could get used to this," I said as Edward put his arms around me. I smirked. "I definitely think I could get used to it."

Alice grinned and waved her arms in the air like some sort of swami and, in a prophetic voice, said, "I see many shopping trips in your future…" I groaned. Alice smiled. "You know that once we get out of Forks, I'll have to go shopping. You're old wardrobe just won't do now!"

"But… but you've already bought me so many clothes, why buy more?"

Esme looked at me and said, "Don't argue, dear. You'll lose." And with that, she turned on her heels and was gone.

"Esme's right, my Bella. During your first year, I predict that Alice will be go shopping every other day, and in no time, you may even have more clothes than she does. And not to mention once you're able to be around humans. Then she'll really have her way with you."

"Won't it be fun?" Alice hugged me tightly, despite Edward's arms still around me. Giddy, she walked out of the bathroom rambling on about what to buy first, what shoes to get, which designer would look better… It was horrible.

I shook my head and left as well, my fiancé following behind. This was going to be so interesting….

I made my way to Edward's room without thinking of where I was going and I flopped down on the bed, now useless. I inhaled and I could smell his scent everywhere around me. I smiled. Before I knew it, Edward was flopped down beside me. We lay there looking up at his ceiling for the longest time before he rolled over and whispered into my ear, "I love you Bella."

I looked over at him, mesmerized by his beauty once again. "I love you too." It seemed like we were frozen in time as we stared at each other, my entire head consumed with thoughts of how much I loved him. He was the most perfect being that walked the Earth, and for once, since I first met him, I felt somewhat equal, somewhat more deserving of his love.

"I want you to promise me something, Edward," I said as I ran my index finger across his cheek. "I want you to promise that you won't ever leave me again. Ever. When you ran out earlier, when I was changed, I felt so alone again. It felt like it did when you abandoned me." When I said this, he winced and looked away. "No, look at me. Please promise me. I want to spend every moment with you, because being without you is like being nonexistent. Being without you is like… is like dying. I don't think I could live without you, Edward."

He took my hands into his, and kissed them softly, and looked into my burgundy eyes. "Never, Bella. I will never leave you again." He leaned over and kissed me. "I promise."

(**A/N**: I've edited this chapter since I've posted it. I thought I'd remind ya again. So yeah, I'll try to update as often as I can. About once a week is my goal. And by the way, 25 chapters is what I'm hoping for, length wise. So, please review. You can tell me off for leaving for so long if you want to, but you'd better have some nice things to say along with it! Lol. I'm kidding. Well, yeah, I'm done talking now. Lol.)


	8. Telling Charlie

(A/N: I just had a realization… I've almost completely neglected Jasper and Rose throughout this story… I've not really meant to… But I just have. Oops. So, more Jasper and Rose scenes! Well, not immediately, but in the future. Oh, and I've not read Eclipse in quite a while, so I'm not sure what day the big battle with Victoria and the newborns happen. So in this chapter, Charlie is at work, meaning it's a weekday. I'm not sure if that's accurate or not… but we'll just go with it. :) lol )

**Chapter Eight**

**Telling Charlie…**

We lay wrapped in each other's arms for what seemed like hours. I was content to never move, and I was sure he felt the same way. But unfortunately, I never really got what I wanted. At dawn, just as the sun started to chase away the darkness, Alice came and knocked on the door.

She didn't wait for either of us to say come in, but rather let herself in. I hastily untangled myself from Edward's arms and sat up. But too late, Alice had saw and let out a little snicker. Edward also found my embarrassment quite funny as he propped himself up on his elbow and suppressed his own little chuckle.

"Hello, Alice, my dear," Edward said lazily. "So nice of you to at least knock." His voice was dripping with humorous sarcasm.

She only stuck out her tongue to his comment. "You two had better get downstairs and get ready to leave. Carlisle is on his way back, as are the others. Carlisle will be here in about five minutes, Rose and Emmett will be here in ten, and…" Alice paused for a moment. Downstairs, I heard the front door open and close. "And there's Jazzy," she said with a smile.

I sighed. So, the plan was about to be set into motion then… Charlie's world was about to be ripped apart, as was Renee's… About two dozen people were probably going to waste their time scouring the place for Edward and I when we were nowhere near where they were looking… The rest of the Cullens would have to sit around and pretend to cry and mope when they'd just see us later that night… It was a perfect start to my second day. Utterly perfect.

"I'll leave you two alone, then," Alice said and she slowly left the room, closing the door behind her. "Better get downstairs within the next five minutes though…" I heard her mumble when she was at the stairs.

Edward got up from the bed to stand beside me and pulled me into his loving embrace once again. "It'll all be okay, Bella."

I slightly pulled away from him so I could look into his piercing golden eyes. "I- I know. I just wish I didn't have to do this, you know? But I do, so I'll just have to move on." He nodded solemnly.

"Well, let's go then. There's nothing we really need to take, and we'll be running to the meadow in any case. We'll have to chose our route carefully since we don't want to get anywhere near humans, or anywhere near their scent. Are you thirsty again yet?"

I shook my head as I made my way to the door. Edward shot in front of me and opened the door before I could get my hand anywhere near it. I looked at him oddly. Sure he was gentlemanly, but it was just his bedroom door. I was pretty sure courtesy didn't apply to bedroom doors.

He chuckled and said, "Until we get you used to your strength, touching things isn't a good idea. That could be something we could do today, get you used to the new you."

I smiled. "I forgot about my strength… But on the point about being thirsty, no, I'm not. Not like I was yesterday anyway. I'm fine for now." He nodded his head and left the room, closing the door behind him once I'd exited.

I followed him downstairs, and once again, I couldn't help but grin at the speed at which I'd done so. I had a feeling that it was going to be a while before I stopped grinning at every supernatural thing I did. We went into the living room to find Alice sitting on Jasper's lap, and Esme sitting in one of the chairs. Jasper's eyes, I noticed, were a very warm golden, and the shadows under his eyes were hardly noticeable. I waved to him and he returned the gesture happily.

Esme got up and came over to Edward and I and hugged the both of us together. When she pulled back she put her hands on my shoulders and smiled. It wasn't one of those really happy smiles, or the kind of smile that comes from hearing a funny joke. It was a smile that said, 'I'm sorry'.

"Don't worry about anything, Sweetie. It'll all turn out for the best," she murmured.

"I know," I replied, trying to look as optimistic as possible. "I know."

Edward and I took a seat next to Alice and Jasper, who were animatedly talking about what they wanted to do first once they arrived in Alaska. Of course, Alice was voting for shopping. I leaned my head against Edward's chest and absentmindedly watched the morning news that was on TV. I couldn't help but think how trivial the news was now, how trivial my old human world had become. It was even mildly funny when I got to thinking about it. When the reporter mentioned a string of robberies yesterday, in which only a few pieces of lawn furniture had been taken, I couldn't keep myself from thinking, _At least it was just a robbery. You should be thankful they took your garden gnomes and not your lives. Be thankful that no monsters paid you a visit like they have me._

After a few more minutes of unimportant news stories, I heard Carlisle's Mercedes coming up the long and winding drive. "Carlisle's coming," I whispered as I traced imaginary pattern's on Edward's shirt, which he hadn't changed since the day before, I noticed.

Within no time, it seemed, Carlisle was walking in with a solemn face. He nodded to everyone before turning his attention to me. "You'd better go ahead and go, Bella. It'd be best if you didn't hear what I'm about to tell Charlie."

I shook my head and met his gaze. "No, I'll go after the call is over. I want to hear his voice once last time before I go… Please? Let me have this one thing."

He paused, as if considering it, and then looked at Edward. "Edward?"

He chose his words carefully, I could tell. "I… I think we should let her… She knows that Charlie is going to be upset. That's not going to be any surprise. And she has a point. This will probably be the last chance she'll ever have to hear him."

"I don't see why not," Esme chimed in softly. "There's no harm."

Carlisle sighed, and then nodded his reluctant acceptance. "Very well then. Are you ready for this Bella?"

"So… So soon?" I asked apprehensively, trying to stall, to give Charlie more time before he'd have to hear the inevitable. Carlisle only nodded. I sighed. "He's at the station right now." Carlisle frowned.

Carlisle got out his cell phone and stared at it for a moment before his fingers quickly dialed the numbers. I could hear the dial tone perfectly, as if it was next to my own ear. When someone answered, Carlisle said, "Please, get Chief Swan on the phone, it's urgent. Tell him its Carlisle Cullen."

The person agreed and there was a bit of silence before Charlie's voice came across the phone.

"Yes, Carlisle? What is it? They said it was urgent."

"Charlie, Bella and Edward weren't at your house last night, were they?"

"No, Carlisle, they weren't. I've not seen Bella in ages. Why? Is something wrong?"

"Well, I had to work the night shift last night, and so I didn't get home until just a few moments ago. Yesterday, Bella and Edward had plans to go to Aletta beach. They said something about watching the sunset. And, well, when I got home this morning, Edward's car wasn't home. I woke Esme up and asked her if she'd heard from them, but she hasn't."

"Oh my god…" As soon as those words left Charlie's mouth, I knew that there was no turning back now. I buried my head in Edward's chest and sighed. He rubbed his hand across my back, and that provided only a small measure of comfort. Carlisle looked at me with sorrow before continuing.

"So you're sure they weren't at your house last night?"

"Y- Yeah, I'm sure. You don't think they ran off somewhere without telling anyone, do you? I mean, it's possible, right?"

Carlisle sighed. Then he added a tinge of panic to his voice for the next part. "No, no I don't think they did. Esme had told them to be back by twelve, and Edward isn't the type to just disappear without telling anyone. No, I fear something's happened."

"Are, are you sure? Surely there could be some other reason?" Charlie's voice was cracking now. I could tell he was really and truly worried. Worried to the point of tears. I wanted so much to somehow manage to tell him that I was all right, and that this was all some big joke. I wanted so much to go to him, to hug him, and to apologize for getting myself into this mess. I just wanted to be there for him more than anything. I let out a shudder, and then I felt Alice's hand grabbing mind. I looked over to her and saw her sympathetic glance. I weakly smiled, hardly able to do more than that.

Both Carlisle and Charlie fell silent for a minute, until I heard Charlie take a deep, ragged breath. "Okay, umm, I'll call the police up there. Where did you say they went? Aletta Beach?"

"Yes," Carlisle said gravely. "Yes, Aletta Beach."

"Gosh, that's a long way off… But I'll call the police up there and see if there's any sign of Edward's car." He paused. "You know, I'm… I'm sure that it's nothing. I'm sure they're fine…" But I could tell that he didn't sound very sure of what he was saying.

"Okay, thank you so much Charlie. I hope you're right. I hope it's nothing." After saying their goodbyes, both of them hung up. As soon as the conversation was over, I knew that all my ties to the human world were about to be severed. His voice was the last human voice I would probably ever hear for a very, very, very long time. And it was definitely the last human voice I would hear that I would know from my time as a human. I stared at a spot on the wall as my sorrow raged inside of me.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," Jasper whispered. I soon felt a very welcomed wave of calm wash over me, and I flashed a small smile at my new brother, showing my appreciation.

The front door suddenly opened, revealing Emmett and Rosalie. I had been so caught up in the phone conversation with Charlie that I hadn't even noticed their vehicle come. I could tell that they instantly knew what Carlisle had just done, and sympathy flooded their features. Rose came over to me and took my hand in hers, then bent down and hugged me. "I wish we didn't have to do this," she whispered in my ear and she squeezed me tighter. When she pulled back, her embrace was only replaced by Emmett's.

"Just think about all the good times we'll have in the future, okay? It won't be that bad," he said softly.

"I know," I whispered. "I know."

"Well, Bella, Edward, you might as well go ahead and go. Try and have a little fun, get your mind off things," Carlisle said as he put his phone back in his pocket. "We'll call you tonight when Alice sees that it's safe."

Edward nodded. "Well, I hope everything works out as planned."

"I do to," Carlisle whispered as he looked blankly ahead.

I slowly rose up from the sofa and went to stand by the door. I knew better now than to try and open it. I might break the knob. After Edward hugged Carlisle and Esme, he came over to me and asked, "Are you ready?" I nodded. "Well then, let's go."

He opened the door, and I went outside. I glanced at the big white house one last time before taking his hand and running into the woods.

**_IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!!!!!!!!_**

(A/N: So... I need everyone's opinion. Do you think that Charlie was a bit... calm during the phone conversation, or was it on the mark? I just don 't know. The phone conversation just doesn't cut it for me... Anywho, I have another request to ask my dear reviewers. I would like to know how the pace is? Is it going at the right pace, is everything moving along well, is it too fast, could I draw it out a little bit more? What? I can have Bella break the treaty (don't act like its a suprise, it says so in the summary in chapter two) within the next five chapters or so, and that would speed things up, or should I give it more time? Cause I'm enjoying writing this story as much as I'm hoping you're enjoying reading it. So... tell me what you think? Go ahead and have her break the treaty, or let Bella get aclimated to her newself some more...? So, yeah... Please, please, please review and tell me.)


	9. The Meadow

(A/N: I have an important thank you/shout out to my new beta, Tiger Lily 21. While readerbug21 will also continue to be a beta (I love you readerbug!), Tiger Lily21 will be helping me a lot with my story. So I want to thank Tiger Lily for agreeing to do this for me. (You're awesome Tiger Lily:) Sorry, this one took a little longer to write since I couldn't really decide on what I wanted to happen… Sorry. And I'm also going to prewarn you: there's an unpleasant scene with a wolf... I'm not an animal hater or anything, but you've got to remember that when instincts take over, it's not pleasant...)

**Chapter Nine**

**The Meadow**

As we ran, it seemed for a time as if all of my problems disappeared. All that existed in the world was me, Edward, and the millions of trees that we passed by. No Charlie, no Renee, no Jake, and no death plot. When I was running, there never had been any Victoria, no army of newborns, no Quileutes. While I ran with Edward, we were just… free, it seemed like. But every few minutes that peace and freedom would be endangered when a scent would hit my nose, and I would be tempted to turn in some other direction, to follow it. When I would smell those intoxicating and mind-frenzying aromas, I could sense the monster inside of me rear up in defiance, like it had yesterday, but Edward would always look over at me and shake his head, dragging me along.

We hadn't been running very long when Edward slowed down to a stop, and I stopped along with him. I looked around, noticing that this wasn't our meadow. "Why did we stop?" I asked, curious.

He looked around, as if checking to see if anyone was around, and then said, "We're going to have to cross a road. I just wanted to stop and make sure there weren't any humans out driving on it."

"Well?" I asked. "Is it safe for me to be wandering the roads now?"

He shot me a scolding glance before nodding. "I don't hear any human thoughts, so that's a good sign. Come on, let's go." He was about to start running again, when he paused and looked back at me. "I think it would be best if you don't breathe until we get past the road. I guarantee that there will be human scent all over the place. You had enough trouble passing up the scents of all the animals back there. I don't want to take any chances with a human scent."

I nodded and did as I was told. We took off, and at first, I was fine. But as we ran closer and closer to the road, I began to feel extremely uncomfortable. I hadn't realized how different things were without my sense of smell. Smell was one of my new features that I'd neglected to pay much attention to, I realized. I'd focused on my sight, my hearing, my speed, and strength… I hadn't realized how important smell was. I wanted more than anything to just take a deep breath, but I knew that I shouldn't.

We didn't even stop at the road. We just ran across as fast as we could. If any humans had been around, they wouldn't have been able to see us cross because we were moving with such speed. After a little while longer, I heard Edward say, "You can breathe now."

I inhaled so deeply, comforted by everything that hit my nose: the smell of the soil, the cedar trees we passed, the incredibly tempting woodland animals, Edward… I smiled as I inhaled his wonderful scentSince he was ahead of me, his scent was so much stronger downwind, where I was.

When we finally reached our meadow, I looked up to realize how little time had passed since we'd left the house. The sun still wasn't completely up. "How long were we running?" I asked as I stared up at the dawn sky.

Edward plopped down on the ground, sitting Indian style, when he said, "Oh, about four, five minutes I guess." He laughed when he saw my astonished expression. We had run such a long way, and we'd only been gone for five minutes! I shook my head in disbelief as I fluidly lowered myself into Edward's lap. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me close to his stone chest.

"So, what are we going to do to pass the time away?" I said, tracing patterns on his arm. "I mean… we can't just sit here all day."

"Well, technically we can, but I see your point." I rolled my eyes. "Well, I did promise Esme that I'd try to help you with your new found strength. I suppose we could pass the time with that." He shrugged, his arms still wrapped about me.

I pulled away and looked into his eyes. "I have a better idea," I said with a mischievous grin set on my face. He raised his eyebrows in answer to my comment. I looked down for a moment before I snaked my arms around his neck. I had been wanting to spend some real time alone with Edward ever since I was turned, but there was always someone else in the house. But here, in our secluded meadow, in the dawning sunlight that made us glitter like diamonds, I knew that there would be no interruptions. It was just the two of us, and no one else.

His ocher eyes looked into mine with such intensity, that I knew he realized he didn't have to be so gentle, so restrained. He realized now that I wasn't a delicate flower to be broken, or a glass figurine that would shatter at his touch. He pulled me closer to him, his face so close to mine that I was able to notice every little detail within those mesmerizing eyes. I could smell his sweet breath, and hear his steady breathing. "I love you, Isabella Swan," he murmured gently into my ear before kissing the side of my neck.

"Same here," I whispered so quietly that it almost sounded like a gentle breeze blowing by. I felt his lips slowly make their way to my mouth, where they hesitated. I met his unsure gaze and smiled as I unwrapped his arms from me and took his hand in mine. "Edward, I'm not a human now. I won't break."

He nodded, before answering. "I know you won't. I guess I'm just still not used to the idea."

"I guess you'll just have to learn to accept it then, won't you?" Before he could reply, I crushed my mouth against his, not wanting to give him time to back out. I sat there in his lap, lost in that kiss, lost in its bliss. He did not push me away when I became too adventurous; he did not waver when I ran my tongue over his venom-coated teeth or when my hands became intertwined in his beautiful bronze hair. He just embraced me, holding my face to his as we became lost in each other.

We stayed like that forever it seemed, alone in our own little world. I wanted so much for us to take it farther, to take it as far as we could, but I wouldn't allow myself to do that, no matter how much I wanted it. I remembered Edward telling me that he'd much rather wait until the two of us were married, and I remembered how serious and pleading he was about it. With him feeling so guilty as it was about what happened to me, I didn't want him to feel even worse.

Eventually, it was Edward who pulled away first. I kept my eyes closed a little while after he'd pulled away, disappointed that it had ended. I sighed and took my hands out of his hair before opening my eyes to see his perfect crooked grin and his wonderfully golden eyes. His hair was more haphazard than usual where my fingers had become entangled.

"We should probably do something a bit more productive with our time," he said quietly as he ran his finger lovingly across my cheek.

I halfway smiled at his comment. "I thought we were being productive…" He laughed

"That's not what I meant, Miss Swan." He gestured for me to get up from his lap, and I grudgingly did so. "I promised Esme that I'd work with you on your strength, and she'd be awfully disappointed if I didn't." He rose up off of the ground as well, and took my hand.

"I don't think she'd mind. As long as we're happy and having fun, I don't see why she'd mind too much."

He gave me a skeptical look. "Of course. I'm sure she wouldn't mind you crushing the doorknob when you open the door to the house tonight. She wouldn't mind at all." I rolled my eyes.

"Now come on." He pulled me back to the edge of the forest; just far enough inside so that the sun, which was fully up now, didn't make us sparkle as much. It was all fine for a moment... until the wind came through the forest, carrying with it my weakness. My nose was hit by a tumult of scents. I clenched my eyes shut and halted my breathing, not wanting to ruin my time with Edward. I hadn't noticed my thirst until now because my mind had been preoccupied with other things, but now I realized that my throat was slightly tight, uncomfortable, and aching. The temptation to hunt was much stronger than it was when Edward and I had been running in the woods. It dumbfounded me that so little time had passed and yet I was already thirsty.

"I thought Carlisle said I wouldn't have to feed as often," I whispered, trying to save my breath so I wouldn't have to inhale. I could feel the venom pooling in my mouth, and I could feel all the muscles in my body contract, as if I was ready to spring. I felt like crying because I was hoping that I wouldn't have to go through what I did yesterday. I wished that I didn't have to become a crazed monster again. I just wished that I could live all of my days with Edward without having to worry about anything else.

His hand tightened around mine. "You're only a day old, so to speak. Your bloodlust will be at its strongest right now. With time it will ease, but don't expect to go days without feeding. If you were a normal newborn, you'd have felt the need to hunt long ago. And besides, you only had two deer. That will not slake your need to hunt. That's why we usually feed from larger predators. It's more satisfying. When we get out of Forks, you'll see." I could tell that he was trying very hard to make me feel better, but he was asupset as I was.

I opened my eyes to stare at him. The pained expression on my face must have somehow hurt him, because I saw a wave of sorrow wash over my beloved's features. I softened my face a little, and wrapped my arms around him, to show him some measure of comfort. I didn't dare take a breath to speak, so I hoped that he understood what I meant through the hug. I looked up at him only to see his eyes clamped shut.

"Now you know why I never wanted this for you," he said through gritted teeth. He opened his eyes and locked his gaze with mine. I saw sorrow and anger there. In one swift movement, he grabbed my face to prevent me from looking away. His voice became impassioned and fervent as he spoke. "I didn't want you to have to have to go through this. Ever. While I had wanted you by my side for as long as possible, I wasn't prepared to make you pay the consequences for it." He dropped his hands from my face and sighed. "But it's too late to change things now..."

Edward lapsed into a silence, and though I did feel sorry for how he was feeling, I wished that he would say that it was time to hunt. Not breathing was starting to be an extreme discomfort, but I knew that if I took a breath and smelled all of those... mouthwatering scents... those tempting aromas... No! Even thinking about it made it worse! I couldn't take it. I closed my eyes as tight as I could, but it didn't have any effect. I felt my control slipping... I felt myself letting go.

Just when I thought I was about to dash away, out of Edward's grip, I heard his distant voice say, "Go ahead." I didn't need any other encouragement. I took off, not waiting for Edward to let go of me. I just broke away and ran. I wasn't as bad as I had been yesterday, but as I remembered draining the animals of their warm and rejuvenating elixir, my instincts took over again. I was a predator once more. I didn't know where I was running, and I didn't really care. I was just waiting for the right smell to hit my nose, for the right scent to send me reeling.

With every step I took, I could feel the yearning in my stomach growing in intensity, and that just pushed me on further and further away from the Bella that I remembered. I finally caught a whiff of something worth going after, and followed it. It sent me into a frenzy because it was much more tantalizing than the deer scent had been. It made me push myself all the more harder and all the more faster.

Within a matter of moments, I found what I'd been searching for. There was a gray wolf lounging on a rock in a beam of sunlight. It didn't even have time to look up in alarm. Within a second of spotting it, I had a grip on its leg. It tried to bite me in an attempt to flee my grip, but its teeth had no effect on my granite skin. I bit into the creature before it had a chance to snap at me again. It thrashed for a moment before falling limp in my crushing grasp.

As I was finishing, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Out of pure instinct, I swatted it away and growled. My only thoughts were not letting my query be taken from me. I grabbed the body closer to me and drank the remaining drops greedily.

I finally stopped when there was no more to be had, and I couldn't help but gasp, as I'd saw what I'd just done. It was worse than what I'd done to the deer. I threw the body down on the ground, where I'd been hugging it to me and suppressed a shudder. Where I'd initially grasped its leg... it was broken and resting at an odd angle. It's once smooth gray fur was now stained red and matted; its eyes staring lifelessly ahead.

Once again, I felt someone's hand rest on my shoulder, but I paid it no attention as I stared at the carnage that lay before me.

"Bella, are you okay?"

I nodded out of reflex, but my eyes never left those of my prey. Why had I done that? Why had I been so vicious? Surely I was able of some form of constraint, some form of decency? Without thinking of what I was doing, I started digging. I would pull up handful after handful of dirt until it was deep enough for a shallow grave. Edward said nothing. I placed the poor wolf inside and covered it back up.

"Let's go back now, okay?" Edward bent down from where I was crouched down on the ground and pulled me upright. "It'll get easier to deal with in time." I said nothing in response, and nothing when he hugged me and smoothed out my ruffled hair. I just followed him as he led me back to the meadow.

As it turned out, I hadn't run far, so it took only a little while before we were back. I just lay down on the ground on my side, and closed my eyes, praying for sleep to take me. I felt Edward's leg brush the back of my arm as he sat down beside me, but I didn't turn over.

I loved him so much, I really did. And just the thought of not spending eternity with him made me shudder. So I would have to accept the price that I would have to pay. I would have to live with being a predator. I wasn't just Bella anymore. I was Bella the vampire. But... that scared me. What I was capable of scared me. What I might do if no one was around to stop me scared me. When I was human, I was aware of everything that would happen when I was turned, but I never thought about it that often. I recall what seemed so long ago, sitting at the kitchen table of my house with Edward, and talking about the killings in Seattle and how he'd told me it was a newborn who'd done it. I remember saying that I would be different. That Edward wouldn't let me be a monster and that we'd move to Antarctica. But I couldn't help but think that even if I never killed a single human in my entire existence, would that make me less of a monster? The image of the wolf I'd slaughtered kept playing over and over in my head.

As I lay there on the hard ground, deep in contemplation, I became aware of an unrelenting nagging feeling at the back of my mind. It was like a pressure on my mind, an uncomfortable presence. I tried to ignore it, but it was like a mosquito that you knew was there but couldn't see. After a few minutes, it grew in annoyance. It became more and more unbearable until...

_I wish she'd say something... Anything would work. I would be happy just to hear her yell at me for letting her kill the wolf... or for her to get mad at me for letting Victoria bite her... Anything other than this horrible silence._

I shot up immediately. Those were not my thoughts I'd just heard... I slowly turned to Edward who looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"Did you just saysomething?" I asked, hoping that he had and that I was imagining things.

He shook his head. "No, why?"

"Because I think I just heard your thoughts..."

(A/N: Dum Dum Dum!!! Okay, I'm not entirely happy with this chapter... It goes from too many extremes too quickly I think... But I've spent all week staring at a blank word document and now that I've typed all this, I'm not about to redo it... So yeah. But about her power: No, she isn't able to read thoughts, per say. You'll just have to read on to learn the mechanics. )


	10. Bella's Power

**(A/N:**Wow, I'm beginning to be very bad for few and far between updates, aren't I? sigh I'm so lazy. But anywho, guess what? I got a part in the school musical! w00t! Unfortunately, I didn't get the part I wanted, but I do get to be three different people, and that adds up to a lot of lines. So, I'm happy I suppose. lol. Well, I thought I'd share my happy moment with everyone. Oh, and if anyone wants to hear a few good songs, here are some: Tired Of Being Sorry, Enrique Iglesias; Whispers In The Dark, Skillet; Move, Thousand Foot Krutch; Puppet, Thousand Foot Krutch. I thought I'd share my music addictions with everyone. Woo Skillet, Enrique, and Thousand Foot Krutch! :D**) **

**Chapter Ten  
****Bella's Power**

_"Because I think I just heard your thoughts..."_

His eyes widened as a look of incredulity came over his face. _How is that possible? "Ho-"_

"I don't know how it's possible!" I shouted before he could finish what he was going to ask. I already knew what he was going to say. I started to panic, afraid that something was wrong. Mind reading was Edward's power, not mine. I wouldn't consider myself sensitive to the thoughts of those around me. Why would I be given this power? What reason was there for me being able to hear my fiance's thoughts? Why?

_This doesn't make sense,_ Edward thought as he started blankly at a spot somewhere behind me. _It just doesn't add up... Being sensitive to others thoughts wasn't her dominant human trait..._

I clenched my head in my hands, frustrated by the sudden onslaught of Edward's voice in my head. And I wasn't crazy and catatonic this time. "Please stop thinking," I whispered, annoyed with the constant thoughts that weren't my own going throughmy mind.

_That's not exactly something I can do,_ he thought. He looked at me and grinned, knowing that I heard him. I raised my head and grimaced. "This isn't funny Edward. I'm not supposed to have your power!"

Slowly, my Adonis edged closer to me, and felt his stone arms encircle me. "Shh," he said soothingly. "It's okay. We'll figure this out, Bella. I promise." _I will figure it out._

I nodded as I leaned my head against his chest. _Try not to think about my thoughts, okay?_ I nodded again. To ease my distress, he began to think of himself playing my lullaby on the piano. It helped some, but I was still hyper-aware that I wasn't the one thinking it. I closed my eyes as I leaned against Edward, and felt like crying. It was all so confusing and unexpected. Did I steal Edward's power somehow? There wasn't any way to tell since there wasn't anyone else around to enable us to check if Edward still had his power. I just found it all too hard to believe that reading minds was my power. I noticed that Edward had begun to hum the lullaby as well, which somehow provided me with some comfort, but why, I'm not sure.

As the minutes passed by, the clouds begun to dominate the sky like usual, sending the beloved sun back to oblivion, and soon the two of us no longer glittered. The wind blew gently through the trees, causing the grass in the meadow to sway gently along, and it had sort of a calming effect on me. The two of us sat still, the sound of him humming lullaby always in the background, until Edward abruptly spoke up.

"That's odd," he murmured.

I looked up at him quizically. "Can you still hear my thoughts?" he asked.

I was about to say yes, until I actually noticed something different. The only thoughts I heard were my own. Since Edward had been humming the lullaby as well, I must not have noticed when I stopped being able to hear it in his mind. My eyes grew wide as I shook my head in confusion. "I can't anymore..."

"I thought so. I stopped thinking about the lullaby a long time ago and was asking you something in my head, but you didn't say anything."

"That doesn't make any sense though! Why could I hear you earlier, and not now?" I pulled away from him and peered quizically at his puzzled face.

"I'm not sure, but I have a theory. When you first heard my thoughts, I was trying hard to be able to hear your thoughts. I was so upset about the silence, that I was hoping that for once I could get inside your head. And that's when you heard me." He paused and glanced up at the sky for a moment, but turned his attention back to me. "But I think that when those who aren't able to use their gifts on you actually try, that you're able to temporarily use their abilities. Its like a continuation of your abilities to block out mental powers." He shrugged. "But its just a theory."

"It makes sense," I said. "Well, try it again. We'll see if you're right or not."

He nodded. And once again, like before, I felt a nagging sensation in the back of my mind before Edward's thoughts erupted into my head. He smiled when he saw my eyes widen. _It worked, didn't it?_ I nodded.

And just like before, after a while, his thoughts faded away until I could hear only my own musings. I couldn't help but laugh with joy. "I have a power!" I said happily, smiling incessantly, which reminded me of how Alice would act if she were here. "This is unbelievable! I can't wait to tell everyone else! Alice will be so thrilled!"

Just then, I heard a cell phone ring. Edward reached into his pocket and pulled out his shiny silver cell phone. I hadn't even realized he had brought it with him. He must have snuck it into his pocket when I wasn't looking. Quickly, he flipped it open and I heard Alice's voice on the other end instantly. "I _am _thrilled!" She squealed jovially. "I Saw this happening earlier. I've already told Carlisle. He's eager to test Edward's theory. Oh, Bella, this is so great!" I laughed as I watched Edward place the phone on the ground, since his ears were probably ringing from hearing Alice squeal so close to his ear.

"Well, hello to you too, Alice," Edward chuckled as he began massaging his temples exaggeratedly.

"Oh, hi Edward. But anyway, Esme is so happy for you Bella! Rosalie is a bit jealous though, since she doesn't really have a power."

"Rosalie? Jealous of me?" I scoffed at this. "That's hard to believe. And besides, I consider her beauty her power."

"Well, she is jealous, and she doesn't see beauty as a power. She just sees her beauty as another wonderful feature about herself." Edward and I burst into laughter. I could just imagine Rosalie thinking that of herself. Once our laughter died down, Alice continued, saying, "And Emmett is happy someone finally has a chance to eavesdrop on Edward after all of this time. He says its only fair since Edward gets to hear everyone else's thoughts twenty-four hours a day."

Edward rolled his eyes. "It's not like I can help it."

"I know, but I'm just relaying messages here. Well, anyway, I thought I'd call to say congratulations on discovering your power Bella. I've gotta go since I'm almost at Aletta. Now that the sun's behind the clouds, everyone's going to help look for you guys. The stuff Rose and Emmett planted was found, so the search is on." She laughed. "I'm going to be so bored."

"Okay, Alice," I said. "Oh, and Alice, make sure Charlie gets some closure, okay? I want him to be able to find peace."

"I promise I'll try, Bella. So, see you guys tonight."

"Alice!" Edward shouted before Alice had a chance to turn the phone off. "My car had better be at the house when we get back tonight!"

I heard Alice's musical laugh before the call ended. Edward picked his own phone up off the ground, all the while grumbling something about his car had better be back in one piece. I shook my head as I grinned.

"Don't worry about it. In any case, you can always get a new silver Volvo if Emmett does decide to crash it."

Edward glowered at me. "That's not the point. The point is is that my CD's are still in it."

"Sure that's the point." I rolled my eyes and Edward frowned.

"Well, we've wasted half the day away and you've still not had any practice with your strength. We'd better get to work."

I laughed, in a much better mood after the conversation with Alice. Somehow it seemed as if she had taken away so many of my worries. I was glad of that since I'd been so dejected earlier about the incident with the wolf and having to put Charlie and Renee through so much. But I would just have to get used to it. This is my life now. This is what I am. And I'm done moping about it. I had pleaded with Edward to change me, and it wasn't right to be complaining about it now. Victoria was gone and out of the way, so I had no need to dwell on her and her evil deeds. It was just me and Cullens now. Though I would miss Charlie and Renee, that chapter of my life was over. I was a Cullen now and I had to move on.

As Edward stood up and lifted me to my feet, I couldn't help but feeling some sort of contentment come over me. I felt at ease with my self, at ease with my nature. Edward looked down at my expression and his face lit up.

"Someone looks happier now."

I nodded. "I just feel like a weigh has been lifted off my chest. I feel much better, and I really don't know why."

He chuckled darkly, his signature crooked grin making me swoon slightly. "Maybe its because you're starting to get used it this already." A frowned creased his perfect face. "Maybe you're starting to enjoy this."

I frowned back, upset by his sudden change in attitude. I hated it when his mood shifted so easily like that. "Edward, don't be like that. No. Its just that I don't see a reason to hang on to my human life anymore. After I told Alice to give Charlie some closure, I- I don't know. It just hit me that I have no reason to hold on to being human anymore. This is what I am, and this is what I will be. There's no point in me moping over it."

He smiled weakly. "I suppose I see your reasoning," he said quietly as he stared of into the distance. "Well, lets get started then. We're burning daylight, so to speak." I looked up the sunless sky and laughed. So much for daylight.

(A/N: Hmm... I don't like this chapter either, but at the same time I really do like it. I don't know. I'm just so indecisive. lol. Well, please review and tell me what you think. I'd really like to get 15 reviews. I'm not the type of person who does chapter ransoms, you know, so many reviews or no updates. But I would really appreciate feedback. :D)


	11. The Vision

**(A/N: **Woo! I'm on a roll! I figured I'd update super fast since I made you guys wait for a very long time for the last update. Well, yeah. Here's chapter 11! Oh, and sorry, I was in a hurry to post chapter 10, so it's probably filled with silly mistakes that I missed and such since I didn't have anyone beta it. I was in a rush. Oh, and on a minor sidenote, I'm going to have to find something for them to do tomorrow in the meadow, the last day before things get really crazy and it really gets into the plot. Because just sitting there and talking is really boring and monotonous. They need an activity worthwhile. I'm open for suggestions for when they go to the meadow tomorrow. (And nothing really dirty!) But anywho, yeah. Here's 11!**)**

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**Chapter Eleven  
****The Vision**

The remainder of the day was spent practicing my control over my strength. I didn't realize how strong I really was or how easy it was to break something until Edward told me to pick up a nearby tree branch, which incidentally resulted in a pile of splinters where I'd grasped it. Edward found it funny. I found it frustrating. I finally decided on slipping my hands under the branch and just lifting it up, no grasping involved. When I held out the branch for Edward to see, I thought he was going to fall over he was laughing so hard. I smacked him on the shoulder. Hard.

For the remainder of the day, Edward helped me become acclimated to my new self. By the time I was able to pick up a tree branch, not just lifting it up, but holding it, it was twilight. He said that I was making progress, and it was probably about to time to go home, so the two of us sprinted back to our meadow. I couldn't erase the cheesy grin that was glued to my face. I was ecstatic that I could finally pick something up without crushing it. But I still couldn't help but think about all the times, as a human, Edward had cradled me in his arms, had held my hand, had just simply touched me. I knew back then that he had the power to crush me. He'd demonstrated it many times. But it had never really truly sunk in until today, when with what I thought were the slightest of touches, I was breaking things. I suppose that the Cullens weren't exaggerating when they said that newborns had incredible strength.

As I jumped over a fallen, moss-covered log, I pulled myself away from the thoughts of my human life, and asked, "Do you think Esme will let me open doors now?" Edward chuckled.

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to turn you loose yet," he said as he entwined his arms around my waist once we'd stopped running. "You're still new at this. You might accidentally forget to be careful and you might break something. And Esme likes to keep the house in pristine condition.

I snorted at this. "Come on! I finally was able to pick up that stupid branch without it turning to mulch in my hand. I'd say I did a pretty good job. I think I'm ready to open a lousy door."

"Ah, but will you remember to be gentle? That is the question." I rolled my eyes and removed his hands from my waist so I could turn to face him.

"Very funny. But I'll remember! I promise! I think I'm used to it now. Really, I am!"

Edward shook his head, his beautiful bronze hair falling down across his forehead, his crooked grin seeming to mock me. "No, not yet Bella."

I sighed as I sat down cross-legged on the ground in one swift movement. "Well, I think I'm ready," I mumbled as I folded my arms over my chest. I knew I was acting a bit whiny and immature, but I thought that I was capable of taking care of myself. With all of my new strength and speed and senses, one would think that I'd be able to do anything. But no, I wasn't even allowed to open a stupid door. It was ironic that I felt so helpless and yet I was so powerful.

He shook his head and was about to say something when his cell phone rang again for the second time that day. He got it out of his pants pocket and flipped it open to reveal Carlisle's voice on the other end.

"Edward? Alice says that she doesn't see any humans coming to the house tonight. You can come on home. I'm anxious to experiment with Bella's ability."

"Okay, Carlisle. We're on our way."

"Oh, and Alice says not to let Bella open any doors yet." Edward erupted into laughter, the bridge of his nose crinkling and his laugh lines becoming prominent.

"I won't, don't worry," he managed to say between the peals of laughter. And with that, he hung up, a few chuckles still escaping his mouth. I frowned. No one trusted me! No one at all! Maybe Emmett would let me try… Edward and Esme wouldn't have to know… I shook the thought away quickly. Alice would see. Most likely, she'd already seen me asking Emmett to let me do something.

"It's not funny," I mumbled grumpily, realizing that I was in a lose-lose situation. "I can open the door without breaking the knob. I know I can."

Edward reach down his hand to pull me up, while saying, "You should know by now. Never bet against Alice."

I scoffed and rolled my ruby eyes. "Her visions aren't definite though…"

"Silly Bella," he said as he clasped my hand in his. "Come on, let's get home."

With that, the two of us raced off into the darkness of the woods, leaving the dim lighting of the meadow behind us. Just like before, I was running instinctively, dodging, jumping, and whatnot. It wasn't even any harder in the dark. It was just… second nature. And also just like before, Edward would have to drag me every time I wanted to take a detour when an appealing scent blew by my nose. Also like before, when we got to the road, I stopped breathing to avoid smelling the scent of a human. Edward didn't even have to say anything, but he still looked back to make sure I was taking the necessary precautions.

Within no time, we were home. The lights were on inside the house, which created a warm yellow glow on the front lawn. The front door was already open, awaiting our arrival, probably thanks to Alice. I would be glad when they thought I was able to control my strength so I wouldn't feel so helpless. Maybe then I could open a door for myself.

The two of us went inside, hand in hand, to find the family already situated in the living area. I noticed Edward shutting the door before I had a chance to reach for the knob. I frowned at this, knowing good and well that I was perfectly capable of doing it. Edward dragged me behind him in the living room and sat down in the chair, playfully pulling me down into his lap. I let out a small gasp at the unexpectedness of it, and even giggled when I fell awkwardly into his lap. Even as a vampire I could manage some small form of clumsiness apparently. I readjusted myself so that my head was propped up on Edward's chest, enabling me to look at everyone else in the room. Alice was nestled in Jasper's lap, Rosalie next to them on the couch, Emmett lounging on the floor, absorbed in whatever video game he was playing, and Carlisle and Esme on the loveseat.

"Welcome back Bella, Edward," Esme said warmly, a smile upon her delicate face. "Did the two of you have fun?"

I nodded. "We were very productive." I heard Edward chuckle at this, probably at the reference to what we'd been doing earlier in the day. I elbowed him in the ribs to get him to quit. Jasper noticed and grinned, but quickly looked away when I glared at him. Focusing my attention back on Esme, I added, "I'm sure Alice has already told you about my power?"

"Yes, Bella. We're very excited for you," Carlisle mused as he looked at me thoughtfully. "Do you think you'd be up for a little test?"

"Oh this will be fun," Alice chirped, her eyes already glowing with excitement. I could tell she'd seen something. She was too chipper for it to be otherwise.

I shrugged. "I suppose I don't really have much of a choice, do I?" Everyone laughed, except for Emmett, who was focused on out running the police in his game. "Well, okay. Let's get this over with."

I'd was prepared for what was coming, but apparently not prepared enough. First came the annoying sensation at the back of my mind, like someone was trying to weasel their way in, and then, _pop!_ All of a sudden, there were more voices in my head than there were in the meadow.

_Hi Bella! I know you can hear me. Cool, isn't it? I can't wait to play with this power some more!_ Alice.

_Is it working? Can you hear my thoughts as well Bella, or just Edwards? _Carlisle.

_Stupid police. No, No, NO, AHHH! CRAP! It took forever to get this far!_ ….Emmett. I chuckled when I heard his thoughts.

_Why does Bella get a special ability? What so special about her? _Rosalie.

_Rosalie is so resentful sometimes. It's kind of annoying…_ Jasper.

_We're so happy for you, dear. I'm glad that you've got this power. _Esme.

_Bella, are you okay? You look tense? I know my power can be a bit overwhelming at times._

The most disconcerting thing about having eight voices in my head, was that it was all going on at the same time. I head Emmett and Esme's thoughts at the same time, Rosalie and Carlisle's, and then Alice's and Jasper's. My eyes grew wide as I looked back to Edward and asked, "How can you stand this? It's like a radio that's playing a million stations at once!"

Edward shrugged, his lips settled into an amused smirk, but his eyes held a bit of frustration. "You're lucky you don't have to deal with it constantly."

So she can hear everyone's thoughts, not just Edwards… Interesting… Edward, do you still hear my thoughts as well? Or does Bella actually temporarily absorb your power? Carlisle.

I glanced back at Edward, trying to ignore everyone else's thoughts. He didn't say anything. "Edward?" I asked. "Can you hear everyone's thoughts still?"

He shook his head, his eyes closed in concentration. "No. When I focused on trying to read your mind, everyone's voice slowly faded out and now… now I can't hear anyone in my head. It's strange, after all this time. Having peace of mind, I mean." He opened his eyes and smiled.

"This is quite an interesting power, Bella. It will really come in handy if you're ever faced with Jane's formidable ability again." I nodded and I tried to stop from laughing when I heard Emmett saying a few curse words in his head at his game. I actually did laugh when he said them out loud. Carlisle shot him a scolding glance.

"So, how long are you able to remain in control of the power?" Carlisle asked as he stroked his chin.

"I don't know for sure. In the meadow earlier today, I'm guessing it lasted for thirty minutes or so. But I'm not sure. The first time it happened, I was panicking because I didn't know what was happening to me. I couldn't understand why I was hearing Edward's thoughts, because I know that the most dominant human trait becomes exemplified after the change. But the second time, my guess would be half an hour."

"I see…"

Just then, my attention was drawn away from the world around me to Alice's thoughts. Her eyes were vacantly staring ahead. In my mind, I saw the vision that she was having. And it horrified me.

_Jane sitting here in the living room, with a misleading polite smile. Also, Felix, Demetri, and another guard member were standing nearby still hooded in their black cloaks that signified the Volturi. Most of the family was standing up, but Carlisle was seated in the chair that Edward and I were in, staring coolly at Jane._

"_To what do we owe this visit, Jane?" Carlisle said courteously, yet one eyebrow was raised in obvious question._

"_Well, I did say that we'd back soon, didn't I? I can't believe you've forgotten already, Carlisle. I've told Aro about Bella joining our society, and he's thrilled." Jane shot me an endearing glance. In the vision, I clung closer to Edward, who wrapped his arms protectively around me. As civil as the glance seemed, I was still afraid of what she meant by it. I knew that Jane was far from civilized, and her politeness made me very uneasy and anxious. My insides were telling me to run._

"_And why is he thrilled?" Carlisle asked, obviously suspicious as well._

"_Well, he was partially afraid that your dear Edward would put it off and put it off, and that the vision your psychic had was untrue. He is intent on Bella becoming one of us, as you know." The way she said 'one of us' made me shiver. Somehow, I knew she wasn't just meaning me becoming a vampire, but something else. Something more sinister. It was in her tone, her glance, her cryptic words that gave her away. Now I knew why Jane had come, why Jane was coming. Jane was going to try to get me to join the Volturi, or worse. Force me._

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**(A/N:** Dum Dum Dum! This wasn't in my original plan... But it works just the same. So, um, reviews would be nice. I really, really like reviews. Especially now that something is going on. Now, we just have to get Bella to break the treaty and then we'll have a real mess on our hands! Woo! I love messes. **)**


	12. Terrified

**((A/N: I don't know if I clarified this well enough or not, but I'll tell you to clear it up. Bella did not 'steal' Alice's power. She was using Edward's power, and normally, Edward is able to see Alice's vision through reading her mind, and since Bella was using Edward's power, she was able to see what Alice saw. This kind of reminds me of some math rule I learned long, long ago, but I don't remember what it is. Lol. Associative property… Something along of the lines of, if AB, and BC, then AC. Yeah, enough with the icky math. Oh, and I think Bella sort of overreacts, but I just wrote and wrote and wrote, and I think I kind of like how it all turned out, so…yeah. On we go!)**

**Chapter Twelve**

Terrified

The moment Alice's eyes cleared, she glanced anxiously over at me, knowing I saw it as well. My eyes were wide with utter terror and my entire body had gone completely rigid. I wanted to run. I wanted to run as far away as I could, as far away as I could get from here. I didn't want to be anywhere around when those dreaded black clad figures came traipsing up the to the mansion. I was vaguely aware that Alice's lips were moving. She was saying something to me, probably something important. But I didn't hear her. I couldn't. I was locked away in my own little world, replaying the vision Alice had just had. I wasn't even paying attention the murmur of voices swirling around in my frantic head. It was all just static to me. The only things I really heard were my frantic thoughts.

_I've got to run. I've got to get away from here. I can't let Jane take me away from the Cullens!_

And with that, I was gone. I was out of Edward's lap in a fraction of the second, and out the door even faster. I didn't even care that when I pulled the door open, the knob was mangled from my touch. I just pulled it open, letting it slam against the doorstop on the wall, and was gone. Maybe if I ran far enough away, not even the Cullens could find me, and then I could come back after I was sure the Volturi had gone. I could go to the far northern part of the state, maybe even as far as Canada. I could hide away in some cave, living off whatever poor animal passed me by. I knew that the Volturi's locating power didn't work on me, so they could never find me. In a few weeks, I would come back. Surely they would have left by then?

I continued to ponder my choices as I ran. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care. Anywhere was better than the spot where I knew Jane would be. Tree after tree whizzed by as I pushed myself harder, faster, than I ever had before. I'd never dreamed I could go _this_ fast, but I was thankful that I could because I had no intentions of stopping. And though the scent of would-be prey bombarded my nose time and time again, as I ran wildly and blindly ahead, I would not be deterred by it. I just stopped breathing altogether and kept going.

"Bella!"

Edward. He was following me, I knew. I could hear him frantically calling my name as he followed behind me. I was somewhat surprised he hadn't caught me by now, being the fastest one of this family. But I'd had a head start, and I was hoping that my newborn strength enabled me to push myself farther and faster than he could. It pained me to be running from him, but I had to run away to stay with him. Couldn't he see that? If I went back to the house, I'd have to face the Volturi. I didn't know if they were going to force me to join their ranks, persuade me, or downright cheat, but I didn't want to find out. I could tell from Jane's demeanor that that was what her aim was. Alice may not have realized it, but I did. I knew that, perhaps, I was overreacting. Maybe Jane was going to politely ask, and go away when I refused. Maybe. But I didn't want to take that chance. I kept remembering the red-eyed Volturi, who killed unashamedly. They bait humans down into their underground city and slaughter them. I did not want to be a part of that. I didn't want to be any more of a monster.

And so that's what kept me going, kept me running. I still could hear Edward calling my name, no farther, no closer, than he had been before.

"Bella! Stop, please! You're getting too close to town!"

Was I? I had stopped paying attention to my surroundings long ago, and as I looked around, I was startled to see that he was right. To my left was the road that led straight into Forks, and I recognized that I was extremely near. I was sure that if I took one single breath, I'd be sent into a bloodthirsty craze. But I couldn't stop. Could I? As long as I didn't breathe, I would be fine, and I could keep on going. Couldn't I? I knew that not breathing worked with the scent of animals, but what would I do if I got in close enough proximity to a human? If I got close enough to one, just for a second… I didn't want to make anyone I knew suffer what I made the wolf go through. I didn't want to look down and see a mangled body before me once I regained control of myself and tamed my senses. But would I come back to my senses after feeding off of a human? Or would I continue, and continue. Edward said that blood was all that newborns thought about, that it consumed their every thought. Due to my repulsion of blood as a human, I'd fared okay when it came to animals. But what about once I'd actually tasted, or even smelt a human? What then? There were too many unknowns.

And because of those unknowns, I finally slowed, staring with terrified eyes at the thinning trees. I'd reached the edge of town now. I could see the lights of civilization ahead and they were too close for comfort. Which was worse? The Volturi, who I wasn't even sure was going to drag me kicking and screaming back to Italy, or me dragging a human, kicking and screaming, to their death?

Nevertheless, slowing down was enough for Edward to catch me, because I was soon tackled to the ground, resulting in a loud thunderous sound as our stone bodies collided. The action frightened me even more, so I lashed out at my attacker, not fully comprehending who it was. I swung my arm out and kicked furiously. It didn't take long for a second person to pin down my legs, and for Edward, who was straddled on top of me, to pin my arms down. I struggled, not liking being confined like this. I wasn't sure why I was reacting this way, but I suspected it was my newfound instincts. All I knew was that being held down like this made me feel threatened and I didn't like it. A snarl rose from my chest as I tried to free one of my appendages, but it was no use. I had no leverage to take advantage of my superior strength. But I struggled nonetheless.

"Bella," Edward hissed. "Bella, look at me! Calm down!"

I felt his weight lift off of my chest, but his hands still held down my arms securely, as he knelt down beside me. "Look at me," he said quietly, dangerously. It was rare he ever used that tone with me, and it actually frightened me. As much as I didn't like being pinned down, I disliked Edward being angry with me even more. Slowly I stopped my struggling. I stopped trying to get free, stopped trying to escape and lay still, with my eyes closed.

Hesitantly, I turned my head to look at him, afraid of seeing his furious face. But when my eyes met his, I was shocked to see, not anger, but sorrow. His mouth was down-turned slightly, and his eyes were sagging wearily. "Bella," he said quietly, no longer in a threatening manner. Instead, his tone was reassuring, and loving, much like it would be if one were talking to a small child who'd done something wrong. "Bella, it's going to be okay. I don't know what Alice saw in there, what you saw, but it can't be as bad as you think. I wouldn't ever let anything happen to you. I promised you that, didn't I? Whatever you saw, whatever it was that made you run, we'll overcome it. The whole family will help you overcome it." I smiled reassuringly, nodding his head to reinforce his words.

"Edward's right," Alice added. "We won't let the Volturi have you. We'll stand by you completely." At Alice's words, Edward looked toward her with a surprised look on his face. For a moment, I heard Edward think, _The Volturi? This can't be good. _Alice ignored his shocked expression and I went back to ignoring the murmur in my head. She came to kneel on my other side, and I turned my head to look at her tiny pixie like self. "And besides, they don't even know for sure if you have a power. If we convince them that you don't, then they'll have no reason to try and take you. I'm sure Aro is only assuming you do. Just calm down, okay?"

I slowly nodded, slightly unsure of her words. Though what Alice said made perfect sense, I still felt the irrational fear of being carted away to Volterra to never see Edward or any of the Cullens again. But as I lay there on the ground, Edward on one side, Alice on the other, and Emmett, I realized, holding down my legs, I knew that they would protect me. I knew that, even if I was afraid, they would make sure my fears were never realized. They were my family now, and families protect each other. If I hadn't stopped breathing to avoid the scents all around me, I would have said thank you. But I settled on smiling appreciatively instead, not wanting to risk me going crazy at the scent of human which was probably every where around me, me being so near Forks.

"Do you promise not to split as soon as we let go of you?" I heard Emmett ask. I raised my head up to look at him and nodded. "Good, because I'm not in the mood to chase a newborn all across the Pacific Coast. I don't care if you are Bella Swan. It is _not_ on my agenda for tonight." He grinned at me as he removed his hands from my legs.

Alice and Edward slowly pulled their hands away from me as well, yet still prepared to pin me back down if I tried to run again. But I shook my head as I slowly stood up, showing them I had no intentions of running. Edward folded his arms around me as he pulled me closer to lightly kiss the top of my head. "Now let's get back home. I'm sure you'd like to go back to breathing, wouldn't you?"

I nodded enthusiastically, desperate for my sense of smell again. Emmett and Alice grinned. It was incredibly annoying having held my breath for this long, but I'd have to tough it out longer. I didn't have much of a choice. So Edward grabbed my hand, and Emmett grabbed my other, for good measure I suppose, and we headed back to the Cullen mansion, Alice following behind.

It wasn't until then that I realized that once again, I no longer heard an onslaught of thoughts in my head. When I'd been running, I'd tuned it all out, like I knew Edward did. It became complete static, and all I had been focused on was my fears. But now that I was actually paying attention, the murmur of voices had disappeared.

Once we were close enough to the house that I knew I was in the safe zone, I inhaled a big deep breath and was swarmed with thousands of scents and smells. It was certainly a relief to breathe again. After a few deep inhales, I looked over to Edward and asked, "Is everyone upset with me for running out like that?"

Edward looked down at me, slight shock on his face. He closed his eyes and became very serious. "No, they aren't mad. They probably would like to know what caused you to run out, since not everyone can see Alice's visions."

I looked down, ashamed. I'd halfway forgotten I was stilling running, and that Emmett and Alice were so near. "I- I'm sorry. I panicked. The thoughts of the Volturi coming frightened me, especially thinking of Jane hinting at trying to get me to join them. All I knew was that I didn't want to be a part of that and that I didn't want to be anywhere around when she showed up."

Finally we reached the house, and Emmett let go of my hand and went ahead inside, sensing that Edward and I needed a moment. Alice hugged me tightly before heading inside as well. I knew I had little privacy since everyone could hear what we said, but the gesture was nice all the same.

Once they were inside, the mangled door shut behind them, Edward cupped my face in his hands and gently lifted my head to meet his eyes. "Bella, do you trust me?"

I stared at him, dumbstruck for a moment. Of course I trusted him. If I didn't trust him, I wouldn't have spent the last two years with him knowing that he could kill me at any given moment. After a moment of confused silence, I nodded.

"So do you trust me to always take care of you? I'll admit that taking care of you is a lot easier now that you're not stumbling every five minutes and now that getting killed is somewhat harder. But as long as you need me to, I'll always be here. I may have failed when it came to Victoria, but…" He looked away, pain in his eyes as he remembered what he'd done. I'd been about to speak up, until he continued. "But like everyone says, at least you're not dead. So in a way, I did protect you, take care of you. And I'll continue to do so until the day I die, so to speak. So you don't have to worry about the Volturi, or anything else for that matter. You'll always be safe in my arms and nothing will ever hurt you. This," he whispered as he leaned in close to my ear, "I swear."

I leaned my head back slowly, to be able to look at him fully. His golden eyes were smoldering, filled with silent determination. At that moment, I couldn't help but think that even now, I still wasn't worthy of such a beautiful creature. I wrapped my arms around him, leaning my head on his chest, and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too," he replied, returning my gesture. We stood there wrapped in each other's embrace until someone clearing their throat broke us apart. I looked over to the porch to see Emmett leaning against the doorframe and wicked grin on his face.

"Are we done being lovey dovey yet? Jasper's about to die from the amount of mushy feelings he's getting from you two, and Carlisle wants to know what just happened."

"Don't listen to him! Take your time," I heard Alice say from inside. I sighed and pulled away. Emmett had such a way with words.

"We're coming," I mumbled as I grabbed Edward's hand and grudgingly walked up the steps. "You could have given us a little more time," I said as I went by, punching him playfully on the shoulder. I laughed when he actually stumbled backwards, landing on the floor with a loud, _OOMPH_! Everyone burst out into laughter, even Rosalie, who had to put her hand to her mouth to conceal her giggles. Edward couldn't even contain his laughter, especially when Emmett got mad.

"Sorry," I mouthed as I made my way back into the living area. When I walked in, Carlisle had slight grin on his face and Esme was outright smiling. Jasper gave me a thumbs up as I sat down next to him on the sofa, seeing as it was the only available seat. But soon, Edward lifted me up and sat me in his lap, still chuckling. Probably from something Emmett was thinking. Too bad I'd lost the ability to hear thoughts amid my little escapade.

When we all settled down, Carlisle folded his hands in his lap patiently and looked over to Alice calmly. "Alice, what did you see that made Bella run off, like that?"

And so Alice recounted what all she saw, every detail and every word. The reactions were mixed. Emmett was furious that Volturi would have the nerve, and he even colorfully voiced his opinion. Jasper was more optimistic, saying that perhaps they only plan on asking. Rosalie scoffed and said that 'only asking' wasn't something the Volturi knew how to do. Esme was a little worried, and Carlisle pensive.

After a moment, the doctor spoke again. "If they do intend on taking Bella, they'll most likely want Edward as well." Emmett leapt up in protest, shouting obscenities at no one in particular, until Carlisle silenced him with a stern look. I hadn't though of that. In Volterra, they had shown interest in wanting Edward in their guard. This situation was not looking good. "In all likelihood, they'll come to Edward and Bella's funeral since they do have a thing for dramatics and irony. And the La Push wolves will be there on the account of Charlie... I expect it to put the wolves on edge, having four more vampires around, and the Volturi are likely to confront them once out of the eyes of the humans."

"Well," Jasper said quietly, "what do you propose we do? We can't just sit here."

"Jasper's right," Rosalie chimed in. "We have to do something to prevent tension with the dogs." I shot her a reproachful look, still not in favor of the derogatory names they used for Jake and his kind. She ignored me and continued. "If we don't do anything, the Volturi and the wolves will probably try and kill each other, which will look bad when the majority the boys from La Push end up dead. And we can't forbid them to come, because that will just provoke them. They're itching for an excuse to rip us to pieces anyway."

"And I won't be able to See anything if there is a werewolf around. I'll be completely blind to what will happen."

Carlisle sighed and rubbed his head. "This entire situation is proving to be a bit too complicated for my liking."

"Well... Can't we just leave for Alaska the day after the funeral? The Volturi would follow us and leave the wolves be, wouldn't they?" I asked. "They're after me anyway."

Esme shook her head. "No, they could always come find us later. They would see the wolves as a more immanent threat than us relocating. They'd take care of them before doing anything else."

"Esme's right," Carlisle added. "Aro wouldn't feel comfortable with letting them live."

"I dont' see why we're worrying about those mongrels anyway. I won't feel any regret for letting them get themselves killed," Emmett said, stretched out on the floor. "They're not our responsibility."

"You guys can't be serious! Those _dogs_ as you call them helped you guys with all the newborns barely four days ago! And now you're ready to give them up for dead? I may not be able to remember a lot about them, even though I wish I could, but I'm sure that they haven't been that bad! And Jake especially! You can't be so cruel!"

Emmett rolled over from his spot on the floor to fully glare at me, which prompted a low growl to escape my mouth. I was slightly shocked by my response, but unwaveringly held his gaze, not letting him see my surprise. "Bella," he said quietly, much differently than the Emmett I knew. "You're too new to understand this. But trust me when I say that you'll be much better off without them. They may have befriended you earlier, but if you make one slip up, they will kill you now. And none of us want that."

I leapt up from Edward's lap, outrage apparent on my face. "But I won't make a slip up! They won't have to do anything to me! If we can divert the Volturi somehow, we can just leave and not worry about them anymore and everything will be fine!"

Emmett jumped up off the ground in one swift movement and was inches from my face within a fraction of a second. His imposing figure loomed over me and I could hear him clench his teeth together. But I didn't back down. I stared at him, my eyes full of stubborn determination. "I won't slip up."

"You don't know that Bella," Jasper said from behind me. I didn't turn away from Emmett to meet his gaze. "You've yet to even smell a human, so you can't possibly say that you won't make a mistake. Only Rosalie and Carlisle are the only ones who've not messed up. The rest of us have. We know what we're talking about when we say that it's likely that you'll do something."

"No I won't," I said, finally breaking Emmett's stare to look down at my feet.

I heard Edward get up from the couch to snake his arms around my waist and slowly lead me back to my seat. "Bella," he whispered. "Listen to reason. At least about Jake and his pack. If they run into the Volturi, a war will happen. If you break the treaty in any way, they'll kill you. Please, just listen to us. For once, Emmett is speaking the truth. They're not our responsibility."

"But we can't just sit here and let the Volturi run into them then. Just explain to them why you don't want them to come, explain everything. Maybe then they'll be fine, and then the Volturi will be the only other thing we have to worry about."

"I'm sorry, Bella," Carlisle said quietly. "But if we explain to them why they shouldn't come, they'll instantly come after the Volturi in an effort to destroy them. The Quiluetes don't have a treaty with them and they won't hesitate to fight."

'Well what do you propose we do?" I asked desperately. I felt so alone in this argument. Every one was against me. Alice was the only who hadn't said something against me. Yet. Jasper obviously was of the opinion that I'll go and kill someone. Edward, Carlisle, and Emmett didn't' even care about the Quiluetes. And Rosalie believed that they'll get into a fight with the Volturi and end up dead.

Slowly, I relaxed and all of my stress and anger slowly ebbed away. I turned to give Jasper a dull look, but he was looking at an interesting spot on the wall that only he could see. "That's cheating," I said slowly as complete lethargy overtook me as I lazily leaned back against Edward. "That is so cheating..." I slowly turned my head and saw Emmett relax as well, but not as much as I had. At least I wasn't the only one being controlled here. It was then that I wished that I could 'steal' Jasper's power as well. But I supposed that since he could affect me as a human, he could affect me now, seeing as he only affected the body and not the mind.

"Well, we'll have to think of something," Carlisle said once the quarrelling stopped. "As I was saying earlier, the Volturi will probably be at the funeral. So since it's unlikely that we can keep the wolves from going, we'll just have to keep Jane and the others from going. Perhaps I can work it out with Charlie for it to be a closed ceremony. Only family and friends can attend."

In the corner of my eye, I saw Alice nod, but I was too overtaken by Jasper's manipulation to move any more. I hardly even cared about what they were saying anymore. "That may work," she said.

"The best that we can hope for," Carlisle said pensively, " is to avoid a catastrophe with the Volturi and the Quileutes, and to convince Jane not to take Bella and Edward back to Volterra. If everything goes smoothly, I plan to be on our way to Alaska the day after the funeral, which I'm hoping takes place within the next two or three days. Hopefully, Charlie won't insist on searching any longer."

Everyone nodded.

It was mind-boggling how fast things were moving. First I ran out the house with no intention of going back, or at least not for a long time, and then Edward swore that he'd protect me. Then everything blew up in my face because I wanted to protect the werewolves that I barely even remembered. I let out small sigh that sounded more like a murmur due to my extremely calm and lethargic state. I halfway turned my head to Jasper, who was looking at me this time. "Cheater..." I said slowly. Jasper only smirked at me. I could tell he found this funny.

I had a feeling tonight was going to be a long night.

**(A/N: Okay… Hmm… I've noticed that in my fanfic here, Edward gives Bella a lot of little pep talks. In nearly all of them, Edward tries to convince Bella that he'll protect her and that he's sorry and that he loves her. That cycle is getting old and I'd never really realized I was doing that till I actually started thinking about it. So, sorries about that. )**


	13. The Ring

**(A/N: This author's note is of little importance really, but I just want to rant. I read Eclipse in September or something. I read it a long time ago. Of course, I began this fanfiction right after I read it, but now, the details are a little hazy, but my extreme and constant obsession allows me to continue with this fanfic. Well, anywho, I was wanting to know what the Edward's mother's ring looked like cause I'd forgotten. I asked my friend, and she told me, but I didn't entirely believe her (sorry Readrbug21!), so we tried to determine where it was at in the book. I scoured that stupid book for like, 2 hour, and I couldn't find it. –sigh- I get to school the next day and ask my other friend (daughter of the silver moon), and she's all, Oh, I know where its at, and flips right to it. –great big angry sigh- It made me mad. And now I'm pouting. :P Like I said, this author's note is of no importance. Okay, enough blabber. Onto the story!)**

**Chapter Thirteen  
The Ring**

Finally we all dispersed into our pairs. We decided that it would best to figure out what to do about the Volturi and the La Push gang once the situation arose. Until then, there was nothing else we could really do except hope that everything goes as planned with faking Edward's death and mine. So Carlisle went to his office, followed by Esme. Emmett said that he was bored, so him and Rosalie got into Rosalie's convertible since Emmett's Jeep was too big and conspicuous for just driving around, and left for some mysterious location. I sensed that Emmett was still slightly miffed about my attachment to the Quiluetes, but I didn't think too much abou it. Alice and Jasper stayed with Edward and I for a while until the two of them retired, in a sense, to their room. Edward and I stayed in the living room, and having the entire couch to ourselves, stretched out comfortably as we halfheartedly watched television. It didn't hold the same appeal to me as it used to, and even as a human it only had a little then.

"What are you thinking about right now?" he said while stroking my shoulder lightly. I shrugged, not taking my eyes from the TV.

"Nothing, really. I'm just sort of thinking about everything that happened tonight."

"Oh," he said quietly. He paused before saying anything, and at first I thought he was going to go back to watching TV. But instead, nonchalantly said, "You know what I'm thinking?"

I shook my head in reply. "I have no idea, but I'm sure I could find out," I said mischievously as a grin spread across my face. "I do have that power, you know."

He chuckled at my attempt at humor. "Yes, you do have that power, love. But I was just thinking about what we're going to do once we get to Alaska. What would you want to do?"

I raised myself up off the couch so that I was sitting, facing him. I shot him a disbelieving glance. "There aren't that many options, are there? I mean, come on. Anything and everything involves some sort of danger now. I might as well stay cooped up forever." I grinned to let him know that I was joking. Somewhat. But I was serious. What was there to do that didn't involve me doing some sort of activity that would endanger anyone within a five-mile radius of me? I doubted that he could really think of anything worthwhile.

"Oh ha-ha, Bella. There's plenty of stuff we can do. I'll admit you make a lot of things incredibly difficult with you being a newborn and all, but there's tons of stuff for you to do."

I raised an eyebrow in question. "Like?"

He rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around me once again, pulling me back down to the way I had been, curled up in his lap. If my heart had still been beating, it would have fluttered at this small gesture, but it couldn't. So I just smiled to make up the difference. Edward appeared to not have noticed, because he answered my question without another thought.

"Well… like finally getting married. After all, you said you would."

My stomach lurched at the word. Oh how I hated it, how I despised it will all of my being! But I had said that I would marry Edward. Besides, I was going to be spending the rest of my life with him anyway. It wouldn't hurt to have it official, would it…?

"Well…" I began hesitantly. "Wouldn't we have to have a minister to do the wedding? A _human _minister? I don't see how that would work." I knew that I was making slight excuses, but I couldn't help it. The idea of marriage still frightened me because of the way my parents' marriage had turned out.

"You seem to forget that Carlisle was a man of God as a human. So no, it doesn't have to involve a _'human minister'_ as you say. We can get Carlilse to do it. Or like I said a while back, Emmett can just get a license off of the internet and he can do it. You pick."

I started to giggle at the thoughts of Emmett doing our wedding. It was bad enough having Alice plan it, but Emmett would make it all the more unbearable because he'd find some way to get a laugh out of his temporary job. After I stopped giggling, I sighed quietly. "Yeah, I guess we don't have to have a human minister after all…" I said dejectedly, letting a bit of my feelings of hesitancy show through my words. To cover my tracks, I laughingly added, "Though I would much prefer Carlisle over Emmett for obvious reasons." Edward found this funny and agreed, but he soon quieted and the two of us lapsed into an awkward silence.

After a while, he asked, "Are you having second thoughts Bella?" Oh no, he sounded upset, I could tell. His tone was defeated, saddened. I couldn't bear to turn around to look at him because I knew that he'd have that pained look on his face that I'd come to know so well.

"No, no, I'm not having second thoughts at all. I love you so much. But you know how I feel. It just kind of scares me, is all." And by saying this, I was making an extreme understatement. It terrified me.

"You don't have to be scared you know," he whispered lovingly. "You're already condemned to spend eternity with me," he said with a chuckle. "If you've made it this far, I don't understand how you can be afraid of anything else."

I laughed, his sarcasm raising my spirits tremendously. "I know. But… yeah. I suppose that's _one_ thing we can do after we get to Alaska. Get married, I mean." _If we make it there in one piece, _I thought to myself. "Now we just have to find 364 other things to do."

"That's the spirit!" Alice said from upstairs. I rolled my eyes at her apparent eavesdropping, knowing she wasn't around to see me do so.

"Mind your own business," I said in reply.

"I can't help it though. It's my nature to know things like this. And don't roll your eyes at me. I _saw_ it." I could just imagine the grin on her face.

"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled. Edward found this funny since he chuckled a bit at our bantering.

"Well, since you've agreed… again… I think we need something else to make it official. Something I've already given you once."

I got up and turned to face him, and once again I found myself admiring his beauty. I met his dark amber eyes and smiled. He was so perfect. I noticed that his white button up shirt was a bit wrinkled and the top two buttons were undone to reveal his marble chest underneath. His dark wash denim jeans fit him nicely as well, I noticed.

He got up from the couch and sprinted upstairs, returning in no time at all. In his hand he held a familiar little black box. I glanced up at him, meeting his nervous and hopeful gaze. He handed me the little box as he returned to his seat beside of me, watching me intently as if I was about to run again. I think he finally realized that this little black box was the thing that could finally make me run away screaming, when all of the secrets he revealed to me as a human, no matter how chilling, didn't. But I didn't run away. I just sat there and watched it as if were a dangerous animal about to kill me.

I didn't dare grip it, so I just let it rest there on my palm for the longest time. This seemed to make him uneasy, that I wasn't opening it.

"I'm afraid to open it, Edward. I don't want to break it," I finally said.

He laughed. "Sorry, I was so caught up that I forgot." He took the box from my hand and slowly opened it. Once again I was face to face with Edward's mother's ring. It truly was a beautiful piece of jewelry. Even the finest jeweler had to admit that. The diamonds that made up the oval shape were astounding and the delicate and intricate gold was amazing. Even though it was something straight out of the late nineteenth century, it was still timeless and beautiful. I found myself looking at it almost affectionately.

"It's so_ pretty_," I murmured, wanting to touch it, but knowing better.

Edward laughed.

I looked up at him and frowned. "What's so funny?' I asked, confused by this unexpected reaction. His eyes seemed to twinkle with his laughter.

"It's just," he said between tiny chuckles, "that that's what you said the first time you saw it." He took my left hand and held it delicately in his once he calmed down again. "Will you wear it this time?" I looked at him and took the bait. He was looking at me so hopefully, so expectantly. He was even trying to use his hypnotic stare on me. I knew that I was going to be spending my life with him anyway, so why was it that I was so terrified? _Just because it didn't work out with Charlie and Renee doesn't mean it won't work out with me. Besides, being a mate to a creature with eternal life is a much greater commitment anyway._

So I smiled as big as I could manage and nodded. "I'll wear it. Though I am afraid that it'll get destroyed when I touch it."

"Don't worry, Bella. I trust you. You didn't destroy that doorknob as much as I expected you to when you flew out of here earlier." I stuck my tongue at out him as he slowly slid Elizabeth Masen's ring on my third finger. I held my hand out in front of me to examine it. The soft glow from the ceiling light caused it to twinkle and shimmer.

In a flash, Alice was downstairs and by my side. "Yay!" She took me by the elbows and hoisted me up onto my feet where she then took my hands and started jumping. "I'm so happy, Bella!"

"Please, stop, Alice." I begged her, embarrassed by her showy display. But it was, afterall, typical Alice.

"Not a chance," she said with a smile as continued to bounce in place. "That means I can go ahead and start planning! Due to circumstances, I can't have the two hundred plus people that I'd originally wanted… but I'll just have to make do. Oh, maybe we can even get you a wedding cake!"

I was about to ask her to stop daydreaming until she said cake, which flabbergasted me. "…Why?" I asked quizzically, knowing that it was a pointless endeavor.

"Just because I can," she said, and then she resumed what she was doing, planning and plotting to put me into frilly things in smelly stuff with flowery decorations everywhere. I grimaced.

"Alice, I think you're about to scare her to death," Jasper said laughing as he came down stairs. "She's a ball of panic right now."

Alice sighed and finally stopped her energetic moving and folded her arms grumpily. "Won't anyone let me have any fun?"

I cringed away once Alice released me and quickly went back to Edward's open arms, relieved to be away from her plotting. "No, no," I said to reassure her. "You can have fun. But a little less fun would be nice."

She rolled her eyes at me. At that time, Esme and Carlisle came downstairs as well. Esme swooped me up into a loving hug and when she pulled back, she was positively beaming. "I'm so glad that you're one of us now. I was starting to think Edward would never find anyone, but then he found you and I'm so happy. I'm glad that the two of you will finally make it official," she said with an infectious smile that I couldn't help but return.

When Esme pulled back Carlisle was next, who at first patted me on the back with a smile, then finally gave in and hugged me tightly. "Congratulations," he said merrily. "I'm also glad that you've finally relented, Bella." The way he said it made me laugh. Relented? He made it sound like I was acting like marriage was some sort of persecution!

"Me too," I replied, glancing back at my beloved Edward, who was positively radiant with joy.

'I love you,' I mouthed to him, before being buffeted by Alice's eagerness to torture me on what should be the happiest day of my life. Before I turned away, though, I saw him return the gesture.

As Alice babbled on, I tuned her out. Instead, my gaze rested upon my _wedding ring_. A smile crossed my lips. _Why should I be afraid of getting married to Edward? He's perfect in every way. The ring is perfect. His family is perfect. There's absolutely no reason._ And with that last thought, I exhaled a happy and contented sigh. No matter what bad things came my way, it didn't matter. I had Edward and I loved him and would love him for eternity. Nothing could change that. Nothing at all.

**(A/N: Woo! Aww, how sweet. But, unfortunately, the sweetness cannot last forever. Some bad things are going to happen soon. I almost refrain from thinking about it, but oh well. We'll just have to see how it all turns out. (Actually, I'm not even sure how it turns out and I'm the one writing it! :P ) Oh, and one of my betas, Tigerlily21, she won't be able to beta my story anymore due to some stuff she has going on. So in August when she is able to again, we're going to go through and have a chapter editing party. So some things are libel are to change come August. But Readrbug21 finally read the series and has the same level of obsession that I do, which is saying a lot! Woo! So she may able to be a bit more of a help. :P ))**


	14. Breaking A Promise

**(A/N: Hmm… I think I'll switch POV's for this chapter… I won't do this too terribly much, but an Edward's POV chapter may pop up a few more times. If you guys don't like this, please let me know. If you'd rather me stick to Bella's POV completely, please tell me. I'd really like some feedback because I've not gotten much on the past two or three chapters. –hint hint- Actual criticisms, remarks and comments are extremely appreciated.)**

**IMPORTANT: This story has undergone a title change. It was called The Hunted. Now, as you can see, it is called Clinging To Humanity. I changed it because when I started this story back in September, it was originally Forever And For Always, but I changed it because someone told me in a review that their title was similar, and not wanting to copy, I changed it to The Hunted. At the time the title fit, but as its progressed both here and in my head, I've discovered that it doesn't fit as much. So this is its new title. :D I hope you like it. **

**Chapter Fourteen  
Breaking A Promise**

**EDWARD'S POV**

I couldn't help but laugh as my Bella was buffeted by Alice's ideas and requests. I knew Alice meant well and was only being herself, but I wished that she'd calm down just a bit, just enough for Bella to stop being so jumpy and anxious. But every time Alice would become hyper, I noticed that Bella would ignore her and turn her attention to my mother's ring on her finger. Bella had no idea how happy she'd made me by finally accepting that ring and agreeing to go ahead with the marriage. It seemed as if tonight, this very moment, had made my entire existence before worthwhile. It made it seem like my life before Bella had been a long and dark tunnel, and she was the light I'd discovered at the end. She was the warm, funny, and amazingly wonderful light that I'd been waiting for.

I looked at my fiancé with adoration as she endured Alice's torture. I didn't think that she could have been any more beautiful when she was human, but she was now. She'd only undergone subtle changes really, but it was enough to make a world of difference to me. I couldn't wait until she was out of this newborn stage so that we could really begin our lives together. This first year or so would be really taxing for all of us, I could tell. But I was extremely surprised at how well she was handling it, given the circumstances. Most newborns forgot a lot of their memories as a human, but it seemed as if Bella's memories were relatively intact, except for those of the dogs and of her life before Forks, really, which was actually impressive in itself. Carlisle had been thinking earlier that she was able do so because her mind had been so protected as a human that she was able to retain a lot of that information after the change. I agreed, seeing it as the only explanation for her vast undamaged reservoir of memories.

Also her bloodlust was nowhere as bad as it should have been. That amazed me more than anything. She shouldn't even be able to act as normal as she does. In most circumstances, she'd be jumpy and on edge at every moment, always wanting to feed, always wanting to slake her thirst. But so far she'd shown incredible stamina when it came to how often her desire to feed came to its unbearable peak. When actually faced with blood, though, it became a different story entirely. When she fed for the first time, and when we were in the meadow, with the wolf, she was… normal. Well, as normal as our kind could possibly be. I'd halfway hoped that her thirst would be affected in that sense too. But unfortunately it wasn't. She was just as wild and crazed as all newborns should be when she knew that her prey was within reach. It pained me to watch as she fed, knowing that with every kill she made, my old Bella was slipping away.

It pained me because, for one, I'd never wanted this for her. She'd only wanted it to be with me anyway, and now she had to keep convincing herself that being a monster was okay as long as she was a monster with me. I knew that I should have left Forks before I'd gotten in too deep, gotten too involved with her. I should have left when leaving wasn't a danger to her well-being. But I couldn't. I grew to love her too much than I thought possible. Now she was just as condemned as I was, as condemned as my whole family.

But she was still my Bella, only a little different. I still loved her tremendously with all of my being and I would be there for her every step of the way. _Even with this turbulence that'll be coming our way, I will be there for her. With every heartache and mistake, I will be there. With every joy and every sorrow, I'll be there._

And so, as I sat there upon the couch, watching with a grin upon my face as she was assuaged by dear, little Alice, I knew that even though things didn't turn out as I'd wanted them to, I was still happy nonetheless because I had Bella. And that was enough for me.

"Edward," Carlisle said from beside me. I was taken from my musings as Carlisle came to stand behind me.

I looked up and him and raised an eyebrow. _Let's go up to my office for a minute, if you don't mind._ I nodded and wordlessly followed my progenitor up the stairs, slightly cringing because I was away from Bella.

Carlisle shut the door behind him and went to sit at the chair behind his desk while I took a seat on the couch that was placed on the far wall opposite his desk. He was looking off into a space for a while, absentmindedly stroking his chin. He may have been hesitant to tell me, but I could hear what he was thinking.

_How should I put this… He probably won't agree to it however I put it…_

"What is it, Carlisle?" I asked, slightly annoyed at his reluctance to tell me whatever it was he was pondering over. It must have been big or else he wouldn't have been thinking on how to say it as much.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, a habit that I did in times of frustration as well. He looked at me sadly and began speaking in such low tones that those downstairs couldn't possibly hear unless they were next to the door. "Edward, I've been thinking about all of this. It's important that we get out of Forks as fast as we can. With the Quileutes on one side and the Volturi on the other, we're running out of options."

"I'm aware of that," I replied just as quietly. "But what can we do about it? I thought we decided to cross that path when we came to it?"

"Yes, I know, but I'd feel much more secure with some sort of plan. I don't like to be unprepared, you know that."

I nodded slowly, looking at a spot on the floor as I took in his words. "Well, do you have a plan, then?"

He sighed again. "To an extent, yes. But I don't think that you'll agree to it."

"And why won't I? If it helps to keep Bella safe and to get her away from here, then I'll do whatever you need me to do." I stared in Carlisle's eyes, not backing down, showing him that I was serious. I would do whatever it took to keep Bella safe. I'd already messed up once with letting Victoria get at her like that, and I wasn't about to make another mistake with her welfare.

"It'll involve you leaving Bella for a little while."

I stiffened and my eyes instinctively squinted in anger. "Why," I hissed. "What can I do away from her that I can't do with her?"

Carlisle shook his head. _I knew he wouldn't like this._

"You're right I don't like this!" My voice rose in its volume enough for those downstairs to hear and to become quiet. I heard Alice think, Uh-oh, _Carlisle's telling him about what he needs Edward to do._

Emmett thought, _This can't be good._

"Edward, please listen to me. Getting away from here is of the utmost importance right now. We need to conclude the search for the two of you as fast as we can. If we don't do something, I fear Charlie will want to keep on searching far longer than I would like." Carlisle had resumed the near silent tone we'd been using before I'd gotten a bit too loud.

"Well what do you propose I do? Go tell Charlie, 'Oh, she's alive sort of, but she's currently unable to go see you because you'll probably kill you, but it's important that we leave right now, so goodbye?' Like that will be much of a help." I wasn't normally this malicious and angry towards Carlisle, but what he was asking of me was too much. I'd promised Bella that I wouldn't leave her again and I was determined to fulfill that promise. To leave her now would be the worst thing I could do. Even being in another room pained me!

"Be reasonable! You don't even know what I want you to do yet!" Carlisle glared at me, unhappy with my rash behavior. "Will you at least listen to what I ask of you, and then you can decide which is more important: being with Bella or protecting her from the Volturi and the wolves."

My jaw hung slightly open at his words. They stung like pins and needles and cause my insides to twist and turn. I couldn't think of anything to say to this. Of course I wanted to protect her. I wanted to keep her safe more than anything. But as much as I wanted to protect her, the selfish side of me, my more dominant side, wanted to stay with her, thinking that I could protect her just as well that way too. I put my head in my hands and let out a frustrated sigh, annoyed with myself for acting this way with Carlisle and for being so selfish.

When I looked up, I remorsefully looked at Carlisle, who looked calm as if nothing had been said, and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"It would be very helpful if we could end this search for the two of you as soon as possible. The only way that that could be done would be if one of you were to be found." Dawning raced across my face as what he was implying clicked in my head. "Tomorrow, if you'll agree to it, I'd like you to get found on the beach and pretend to be dying. I want Charlie to be around when you're found, and I want you to say something to let Charlie know that Bella died. We need him to know that to search anymore would be useless. And then you could die, so to speak, and then we could get the funerals underway quickly. This means that you'd probably have to lie in a casket during the service, but only for a while. If you agree, we can be gone within three or four days. And as you know, Alice's vision didn't really reveal a date as to when the Volturi will come, but we know its soon, so we need to do something quickly."

He stared at me quietly, respectfully, with his hands folded together on top of his desk like a businessman who'd made an intriguing proposition. And indeed it was. I definitely wouldn't like having to be away from Bella that long, and having to keep up the façade of being dead for so long would be bothersome, but it definitely would speed things up. After all, we couldn't very well leave Bella on the beach for Charlie to find. There were too many risks involved with that idea. But me…

"I'll do it," I said with a determined voice. "If it will help, then I'll do it."

Carlisle smiled with relief. The tension quickly melted and Carlisle leaned back into his chair casually. "I'm glad to hear that. So, tomorrow, you'll come with us to the beach and stay in the cars until its safe to come out. Make sure no one sees you. Then play your part. Someone else can stay with Bella."

I nodded. "We might as well tell them now. They're probably wondering what we've been arguing over." I dreaded to see Bella's reaction. She wouldn't like this at all. But not as much as me. So when Carlisle beckoned everyone to come upstairs, I didn't look at Bella when she came in. I made it a point to stare at a painting on the wall. I flinched when Alice thought that I was being childish with how I was acting. No doubt she already knew what Carlisle and I had talked about.

Carlisle explained everything and I tried to block out all the thoughts around me. They were all thinking about how hard it would be for me to do this, and how hard it would be for Bella. I didn't need any reminders. So I stared at my painting and ignored everything else around me. It helped a little when I felt a calming sensation slowly creep over me. I smiled a fraction of an amount, knowing that Jasper was looking at me and that he saw my miniscule gesture. _It'll all turn out okay,_ he thought. I tilted my head down a bit to represent a nod. _Emmett and I can stay with her if you like._ I covertly nodded again. It would be best if the two of them did it. Emmett could probably almost match her strength and Jasper could calm her down if she got out of control. I found myself thinking, _They can handle things. …Right?_

"Emmett and I will stay and watch Bella," Jasper said once he'd gotten my approval.

Emmett and agreed and Carlisle consented as well. But Bella didn't. I heard her moan a little and I could tell that she didn't like the thoughts of being away from me. I understood how she felt more than she could imagine.

"So it's settled then?" Everyone nodded their approval of the plan. "Okay then. We'll leave first thing in the morning."

I finally turned my attention to everyone else in the room, knowing I'd have to face Bella about breaking my promise eventually. When I met her dark crimson eyes, I could see the hurt in them, but still I could tell that she understood. I was about to get up and go to her when I saw a flash of one of Alice's visions in my head.

As soon as it was over, Alice and I glanced at each other warily. _That's not good,_ Alice thought as we stared at each other.

"Edward, what is it?" Bella asked as she came over to me and looked up apprehensively into my face. "What?"

I looked down at her and smiled, wanting to reassure her that it was no big deal. "It's nothing, really. It's just that Charlie's on his way over here…"


	15. Charlie

**(A/N: Wow, I just wanted to take the time to thank you guys for all your wonderful reviews and comments! I got NINETEEN reviews after posting Chapter 14, so that's pretty awesome! :D At this moment, as I'm typing this, I'm two reviews away from one hundred and five hundred hits away from 10,000 and that makes me ecstatic. When I started this story, I had no idea it would have such positive response, but I'm extremely glad that it's been so well received. It would make me even happier if I got to two hundred by the end of it. :D)**

_(Important A/N: I've actually sat down and wrote summaries for the chapters ahead. My summaries aren't finished, but I'm fairly certain that the story will be in the range of 27-33 chapters long. Woo, I'm almost halfway done. And that also means that I know where I want this story to go and I've got most of it planned out (except for the climax of the whole thing, but I'll figure that out when I come to it.) So yeah. Woo! :D)_

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**Chapter Fifteen  
Charlie**

**Bella's POV**

"It's midnight for heaven's sake!" Rosalie cried shrilly, utterly flabbergasted at this unexpected turn of events. "What reason could he possibly have for coming here at midnight? Is he in his right mind?" She threw her hands into the air in stormed out of the room, mumbling something about this whole thing being more trouble than it was worth. I stared after her, feeling guilty about causing so much trouble. And I could understand how she felt because I myself was beginning to think we were getting ourselves into a mess that would be hard to get out of if so many problems kept arising.

"Don't mind Rose," Jasper said, coming over to Edward and I. He smiled at me and enveloped me into a brotherly hug, ruffling my hair as he did so. It was strange receiving these sorts of gestures from Jasper after so much time of minimal contact. It would take some getting used to.

He continued, saying, "She's just not used to having to work this hard for something she cares about. Except maybe when it comes to Emmett."

I looked up at him and scoffed. "I find it hard to believe that Rose cares about this whole deal at all. She never did the idea of me joining your family."

"She cares more than you think, Bella," Emmett said from across the room. "She just doesn't like change and you're a big one. Give her time. And besides, she told you her story once before and why she didn't want you to be a part of this life. Let her adjust to you, please?"

I sighed and nodded. "I will." I looked back at Edward, who was standing behind me with a guilty look on his face, and grabbed his hand in mine. I squeezed his hand, which caused him to look up tentatively at me. I smiled. "Edward, I don't like the idea of you leaving me either, but we both know that it's best. I'm not mad about it, I promise."

Edward nodded and pulled me to his chest where he put his arms around me protectively. "I'm sorry all the same, though." I looked up at his dark amber eyes and sighed. "What?" he asked, confused by my reaction.

"Sometimes I think I'm still not worthy of such a compassionate creature. You're just too nice."

Edward opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Alice. "I hate to interrupt, but Charlie _is_ on his way here after all. He'll be here within ten minutes."

I saw Carlisle, who was still casually sitting at his desk, nod as he looked off into the distance. "He probably just needs to talk, if I were guessing. Having a child go missing would probably be a difficult thing to deal with."

I shuddered a little at his words, remembering once again what Charlie was going through. Edward held me closer as I stared down at a spot on the floor, trying not to think about it too much.

"Well," Esme said after some time, "the two of you need to get going then. It would be best if Bella wasn't in the house."

My head shot up quickly and I stared at her, pleadingly. "Can't I stay in the house? Edward and I could go upstairs to his room and I'd stop breathing. I promise I wont' try anything! I just… I just want to hear his voice again. It's all that I ask because it would mean so much to me."

"Why won't you listen to us, Bella?" Emmett said, exasperated, a hint of anger coming through his voice. "This life isn't as easy as you think it is. Making a mistake is way too easy. Just one whiff, just a brief sight, of a human could send you into a frenzy at this stage. You may think that you'll be able to control yourself, to stop yourself from killing a human, but _you_ _don't know that_." He emphasized these last words, speaking calmly and slowly to get his point across. "We care about you and we don't want you to do something that you'll regret. We know how much you don't want to be a monster. We know that. But if you won't let us help you, that's what you'll become. You'll be just another bloodthirsty monster that all she can think about, is killing." He glared at me, his arms folded across his muscular chest, his breathing even and steady.

I frowned and shook my head. "I know you mean well, but this is Charlie we're talking about. How could I want to kill my own father?"

"Bella," Carlisle said solemnly. "Emmett is right. You're a newborn right now and your thirst for blood is at its strongest right now. You may be able to restrain yourself if you smell him, but if something happens, a paper cut, perhaps, then what? You remember what happened at your eighteenth birthday party, I'm sure? Jasper didn't want to hurt you, but he attacked you all the same."

"Carlisle's right. What I did wasn't something that I could have helped. The only way I would have been able to show restraint was if I was more practiced with my control. But I wasn't.

"You don't need to underestimate what we are. Sometimes our nature overpowers all thought and reason, which leaves us clinging to what's left of our humanity after we come back to our senses. Sometimes we find that we have no humanity left to cling to. So understand us when we say that you don't need to test yourself, to put yourself into situations that you know you can't handle." Jasper's words alarmed me greatly, causing me to take a horrified breath. The way Jasper described losing control startled me because it made me remember the newborns from what seemed like eons ago. I was sure that none of them had any vendettas against the people they killed. They just couldn't help themselves. I found myself imagining a newspaper article with a list of names of people who were mysteriously murdered. All of them killed by my hands. Or rather, teeth.

"Please listen to reason, Bella," Alice added. She paused before continuing. "I hate to say this, but right now, I'm able to see you hurting Charlie if you don't change your mind about staying when he's here." My eyes widened in horror at her words. I hung my head in defeat. Never bet against Alice. Never.

"Look at me," Edward whispered in my ear. I turned around in his arms, so that I was facing him instead of the others. "We know how much Charlie means to you, how much everything you had before meant to you. You may not have realized it when you were human, but you weren't quite ready to give some things up. That's one of the reasons why I didn't want you to become one of us. You'd miss a lot of people and miss out on a lot of things. But now you're going to have to let go."

"Edward's right, dear," Esme spoke up and said. I clenched my eyes tightly shut as I lay my head against my beloved's chest, my hands around him in a frightened embrace. All of this was beginning to be too much to handle. "You're going to have to let Charlie go sometime or another. Staying here while he's here won't help you in any way. We understand how you feel, but you have to trust us. If you stay here, you may end up killing Charlie, and that's not what you want."

"I know…" I whispered quietly, barely even making a sound. But I knew they heard me. "I know that I that should let go, but it's just really hard. Being separated from your human life was so easy for you guys. It happened so abruptly for you and you all were able to accept it and move on. But I knew this was coming for a long time. I just didn't think that I'd have to let go entirely. I figured that I could come back with time." I shook my head sadly. "But there's no coming back."

I felt someone's hand rubbing my back comfortingly and I looked to see Alice staring sadly at me. Slowly everyone came to me and each embraced me, giving me their sympathy and apologies. I smiled and nodded as I pretended to be cheered up. The weight of their words still hung heavily on my shoulders, especially what Jasper said.

"So will you please leave the house?"

I nodded, not even registering who it was that had asked. I just began walking toward the door of the office solemnly and said, "I'll go." I heard Edward following behind me, so I flew out of the open door and downstairs. Edward was right behind me.

"We should be okay in the garage. Charlie won't be coming anywhere near there." I nodded and followed him outside into the darkness of the night. We were walking slower than we normally would and I was guessing we were going at a human pace. I winced at the realization. Human. I was once a human. But now I found myself to be so far from being human that I couldn't even bear to think about it. Thinking about it made me wish that I'd been able to stay human. It made me wish that I'd wanted to stay human.

As Edward and I walked in silence toward one of the outbuildings that the Cullens had converted into a garage, my sensitive hearing picked up the sound of a car on gravel. I knew at once that it was Charlie, but he was still a ways off yet. I paused and absentmindedly turned in the direction of the sound.

"Bella, come on," Edward said gently, taking my hand and leading me toward the garage. I'd never been inside the garage yet, I numbly noticed. I could see everything fine in the dark, but Edward turned the light on nonetheless. There was Edward's silver Volvo, Rosalie's red convertible, Emmett's Jeep, Alice's yellow Porsche, Carlisle's black Mercedes, and last but not least, Edward's Vanquish. It was a large area, larger than I would have thought, with a lot of high tech gadgetry and tools. I was assuming most of the tools were Rosalie's since she was the mechanic in the family. Edward led us over to the wall opposite the way we came in where there were numerous steel chairs with blue cushions. They were obviously some invention of a famous furniture designer, since they were nicer than any chair any citizen of Forks had, and probably cost more than most of the houses in the area.

We sat down in one of them, and while I expected the chair to be awkward to sit in due to its strange design, it was actually very comfortable. I stared at my feet for a while, trying not to let my mind wander to far. I was afraid that if it did, I'd start tearlessly sobbing. Edward sensed my unease and in an effort to make lighter conversation, said, "I can't wait till you have your own addition to our little collection. I still want to get you a little blue Audi. Perhaps a 2008 Audi A3 Cabriolet."

I looked up and shook my head, thankful for the change in topic. "I don't think so. I don't want you buying my things. Especially not expensive sounding cars."

"It's not like you have a vehicle anymore anyway. If we went and got your truck for you, wouldn't that look odd? I mean, who'd want to steal a rust bucket? And besides, it couldn't make it to Alaska if it tried."

I playfully smacked him on the arm. "It was my rust bucket anyway. And who says I even need a car? I can either run or ride with you."

He raised his perfectly shaped eyebrow at me and laughed. "What if I refuse to let you ride with me? What then?"

"Well, there _are_ four other people I can ride with you know. I'm sure not all of them will be so heartless."

Edward rolled his eyes at me. "It doesn't matter anyway. Once you get behind the wheel of a car, you'll be begging me to get you that Audi. Take my word for it. You won't be able to help yourself."

"And what makes you think that?"

"Because, even though we're fast, we're not as fast as a car at top speed. And that's something you won't be able to resist."

"Oh try me," I teased. "I didn't like your maniac driving before, and I'm sure I won't like your maniac driving now. And I'm even more convinced I won't pick up your driving habits either."

He shrugged at me. "We'll just have to see."

I could hear Charlie's cruiser even closer now. He would be here in about a minute. I closed my eyes and sighed, regretting even caring how close he was. "Edward," I asked, sullen again. "How long do you think I'll be like this?"

I looked at him and he shrugged. "I can't say for sure. But the red eyes will go away after the first year, along with your strength. As for being around humans, that will take a bit more time."

"How much more?"

"I can't say for sure. After all, every one is different. It took me two and a half years to be able to walk around down the street street, and that in itself was taxing."

I nodded, taking in what he said. My head shot up when I heard a car door shut. "He's here," I said without thinking. Edward nodded. I sat ever so still as I heard his shoes crunch against the gravel, and then I heard him reaching the grass, then the porch. Each step he made cause me to sink lower into a deep depression. Not as bad as when Edward left, but still pretty devastating. I could just imagine how much pain I was putting Charlie through. I wanted so bad to get up and run to him, to comfort him. Almost as if Edward had read my mind, he put his hand lightly on top of my arm. I looked over at him and smiled.

I heard him ring the doorbell, but I discovered that I couldn't clearly hear his words from where I was when the door was opened.

I slid out of my chair, which made Edward wary. He slid off of his chair as well and tensed as if he was ready to run. He expected me to go after Charlie. "I'm just going to go where I can hear better, that's all. Don't worry." Edward didn't relax, but nodded all the same. He gripped my hand and I sighed. I made my way between Alice's Porsche and Carlisle's Mercedes back to the door Edward and I had come in through. I fluidly sat down with my legs crossed and leaned my head against the crack between the wall and the door. Edward sat down beside me and began stroking my fingertips as I listened to what was being said.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," Charlie said hastily. "I just couldn't sleep. I thought I'd come by and see how you were." This was so unlike Charlie. He sounded so torn up. His voice was raw as if he had been crying, or was about to. Charlie didn't like to cry, or to show too many emotions. I could only imagine the pain it would take for him to do this.

"No, no, we were awake. It's hard to sleep at a time like this. Would you like to come in?" It was Carlisle.

"Thank you." I heard Charlie make his way into the house and the door shut behind him. Hearing now was all but impossible. There were too many barriers preventing me from hearing any more. I sighed and moved away from the crack and leaned my head against Edward's shoulder.

"What are they talking about?"

Edward didn't say anything at first, but finally replied. "I don't know. I can't hear them either."

I snorted. "Yeah right. You can hear what they're thinking. That's just as good."

"Bella, didn't we tell you that doing this wasn't going to help things? Telling you what they're talking about isn't going to make things any easier for you. Please trust me about this, Bella. Just let it go."

I sighed. "Fine," I mumbled. I was hoping that he would give in now that the others weren't here to influence him. I was wrong about that, however. Edward was apparently agreeing with them wholeheartedly. I understood why they didn't want me to dwell on Charlie. I really did. But I really was prepared to let him go. But I just wasn't ready to let go yet. I'd let go once we were on the road to Alaska, far from Forks. Then I wouldn't be tempted to eavesdrop of Charlie's conversation, or to try and be near for the sake of being near. Then I would truly be leaving that chapter in my life behind. But right now, I wasn't prepared to end it all. I had no choice, however, seeing as how Edward was set and determined to 'try and make things easier on me'. Stupid house full of vampires…

About an hour passed as the two of us fell back into conversation about the little blue Audi Edward was determined to get me. He was wearing me down. If it would make him happy, then I would let him. He could get me a hundred cars if he wanted to. I wouldn't like it, but if it appease him, than I suppose I could suffer an expensive car.

Just as Edward was about to argue the point of getting an Italian instead, I heard the front door of the house open. I quickly went back to trying to listen to Edward's dislike. I heard him give a disapproving sigh.

"What happened to the doorknob?" Charlie inquired after sniffling noisily.

"Oh," Esme halfway laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Charlie made an attempt at a laugh, but it ended up as a hiccup and a sniffle. "Well, thanks again. I should be getting back. I wouldn't want Renee to wake up and wonder where I've gone to." I moaned. Renee. No doubt Phil was there too.

"It was no problem at all. I only hope that we can put this to rest as soon as we can. Dwelling on it will only make things worse. I'm sure Bella and Edward would want us to move on."

"I just hope you're wrong. I just hope that they'll both turn up safely. I just wish that I could have told Bella a lot more than I did. Talked to her more. Told her that I didn't hate Edward like she thought I did. He was an okay young man. You did a fine job with him."

I felt my lips turn upward into a smile when I heard this. _Don't worry, Dad,_ I thought to myself. _You just told me._ Him saying that meant a lot to me. I didn't know if he was saying this because it was customary to say how good people were when bad things happened, or if he was being honest. But I didn't care. Him saying it was enough.

I got up from my spot on the floor and moved over to the window next to the door. Edward was on his guard again, afraid that I'd try and do something I shouldn't. I couldn't see Charlie from here, but I could see his cruiser. After a few moments, I saw him. His hair was a mess and he was wearing wrinkled and disheveled clothes.

"Bella," Edward warned. I ignored him. He stood there at his car door for the longest time. His shoulders were hunched and he was alert for some reason. Slowly, as if he knew he was being watched, he turned around and stared straight at me from the window I was looking from. I ran quickly from the window into the nearest corner, eyes wide with utter panic. Edward followed.

"Don't worry," he whispered. "He thinks it's his mind playing tricks on him. He's not suspicious." Edward took me in his arms and kissed my forehead as he tried to calm me down.

"Are you sure?" He nodded as he stroked my hair.

I listened as I heard his car door shut and his engine start. Soon he was driving away. If only he'd known how close he'd been to me… If only he'd known….

(A/N: Phew! That was long. I don't particularly like this chapter, and its probably filled with mistakes, but oh well. It gets its job done.)


	16. Talking With Rose

**(A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. I really hate my AP teacher right now! I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to update, but my AP US History teacher found it necessary to load me down with a ridiculous amount of homework every day. The reason for this being that AP test that was fast approaching. But now the test is over and I don't have to do 30 page packets every night and 107 definitions on the weekends. So I should get be back in my routine of updating a lot. But I'm going to go ahead and warn you: Updates will come only on the weekends over the summer because I have go to college for the summer for this program I'm in. But I'll try to update as often as I can till then so I may be able to get it finished before July 8th.)**

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**Chapter Sixteen  
****Talking With Rose**

"Come on, Bella," Edward murmured quietly as he placed a stray piece of hair behind my ear. I was sitting in the floor of the garage, my arms wrapped protectively around my knees as I stared at anything and everything except Edward. I knew that if I looked at him once, he'd win over and coax me out of the garage. But I wouldn't have it. I wasn't ready to budge yet. I was too much of a wreck. "You can't stay cooped up in here forever."

I sighed and lay my head upon my knees and mumbled, "Try me." I was so close to hysteria at the moment. I was gripping my legs so tightly that I was almost hoping to break them. Anything was better than that turmoil I was facing. I just wished that everything could be easier than what it was. I hoped against hope that somehow I would be able to get away from here without having to hurt anyone else with this whole ordeal. I just wanted to get the funerals over with so I could leave forever and never come back. Maybe that way I couldn't cause any more hurt than I already have. Of course, this whole ordeal wasn't really my fault in the first place. It was Victoria who did this to me, who caused it to be more difficult that it should have been. But at the same time, it was my fault. If I hadn't have fallen for James's trap and went traipsing up to that cursed dance studio, Edward wouldn't have had to kill him, and then Victoria wouldn't have been after me with a vengeance, and then I wouldn't be in this predicament. If I hadn't done that, I could be pretending to go to college, which would be a good excuse for my disappearance, and I could be going about being change _my_ way. But no, this had to happen so suddenly and abruptly that we had to fake my death. So in a way, it was my fault. It was totally and utterly my fault because I was so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"Please, don't make me pick you up and carry you out of here." I didn't raise my head to look at him, but I heard him lift himself up off the ground as if he was actually about to force me out.

I put as much ice and malice into my voice as I could, and coldly said, "Don't you dare, Edward."

He sighed and suddenly I felt his arms around me and I was being hefted up off the ground. "Edward!" I screamed as I finally let go my knees to flail around helplessly. "Put me down, now!" He didn't listen. I couldn't help but snarl and bare my teeth at him, an instinctive reaction I supposed. He frowned then told me not to breathe till we were in his room, which I did only because I knew he wasn't going to let me stay in the garage, and he quickly went outside. I slapped him on the chest before folding my arms over my chest.

Edward walked slower than normal and looked straight ahead, completely void of emotions. But I knew he was hiding it. I knew that I'd really hurt him, not by my slapping him, but with my overall attitude. I looked up at him, hoping he'd look down at me as well. But he didn't. He just continued his blank stare as he carried me into the house. When we walked inside the house, he nodded toward Carlisle, who was in the living room gazing out of the large window. I didn't know if it was in response to something Carlisle thought, or just a simple greeting, but of course I couldn't ask due to my lack of breath to do so. On the second floor, we passed Rosalie, who actually looked at me sympathetically. She held my gaze for a few moments until Edward carried me out of her sight. Finally, on the third and final floor, we reached Edward's room.

"It's okay to breathe now," he said as he skillfully cradled me with one arm and used his free hand to open the door. I let the air flood my dead lungs as I finally began to breathe again. The first thing I noticed was Edward's prevalent scent all around me, which didn't surprise me since we were in his room. Secondly, I noticed Alice's unique scent. Once we were fully inside, I saw her standing next to Edward's CD collection and her eyes were dead as she looked ahead at nothing in particular.

"What does she see?" I asked Edward as he took me over to the bed and gently placed me upon it. My despair and frustration was forgotten temporarily as curiosity gripped and overwhelmed me.

Edward looked over at the tiny Alice and I saw his lips turn downward, and I knew it wasn't good. Especially when he shut his eyes and hung his head low.

"Edward?"

"It's the Volturi," Alice said once she'd snapped out of her reverie. She pranced over to the bed where she laid across it. She was so tiny, that even laying across the shortest end of the bed her feet came nowhere near hanging over the edge. She propped her head up with her hand and looked over at Edward. "Oh, don't look so upset. They're not going to do anything drastic. At least we have a time now."

"What? When?"

Alice glanced over at me and nonchalantly replied, as if it were of no consequence, "After Edward and Carlisle get back from Aletta. They'll try and find out if you have a power, talk a little, and eventually bring up the funerals and how they plan on attending. Nothing we haven't already guessed."

I heard feet approaching the room and soon a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in Carlisle," Alice said.

"I heard you discussing when the Volturi will arrive," he said after he came in and carefully shut the door behind him. He came and stood at the edge of the bed, his arms folded across his chest and his brows furrowed with obvious thought. "Is that all you saw, Alice?"

She nodded. "Jane tries to pry information from us if Bella has a power and we reply that if she has a power, it's not revealed itself. Eventually she moves on to talk about trivial things before bringing up the funerals. She makes it clear that they'll be there."

Carlisle didn't say anything, only continued to think. It was as if hadn't heard her speak at all.

"I won't let that happen, and you know it," Edward said with a growl from where he stood at the edge of the bed. "Nothing's going to happen." Edward met Carlisle's gaze when Carlisle gave Edward a tired look. Edward didn't back down.

"What?" I asked, annoyed at the silent partly silent conversation going on.

"You don't know that," Carlisle said lowly.

"You and Rosalie have went all of these years without slipping up. What makes you think Bella won't follow in your footsteps? She's just as capable."

"What are you guys talking about? Carlisle, is there something going on that I don't know about or something?"

He sighed and shook his head. "No, nothing's going on. I was just thinking about how important it was not to give the Volturi a reason to take you away. And slipping up while they're around would be a very good reason."

"But why? I'm not saying that I'll go and kill someone, but why would it be a problem? They kill humans all the time, and they've not came after you when you slipped up."

"That's true," he said. "But you're different. They'll take any excuse they can find to take you. Trust me. I've lived with the Volturi and I know how they operate. They'll say that we aren't able to teach you to control your thirst and whisk you away. And that's not something we want."

"But they won't whisk her away because she's not going to hurt anyone any time soon," Edward growled vehemently. "As long as I'm around, she won't kill anyone."

"Edward, we just talked about this earlier before Charlie came. All I'm saying is that you never know."

"Edward," Alice chimed in softly, her voice so low that it was almost an illusion. "As of now, I don't see Bella messing up. But she's not made a choice to kill someone yet, so I can't be certain. But at least be extra careful with Bella when she's hunting while the Volturi are around. If she messes up after they leave, it'll be nearly impossible for them to find out. But right now, just be careful. And you as well, Bella. Try to be as careful as possible." I nodded. Edward frowned as he turned and went to lie down on the couch, covering his eyes with his hands.

Carlisle sighed and left the room, shaking his head. "You just never know," he said as he walked back downstairs.

"Edward, may I point out Rosalie went through the same thing with Emmett when he was a newborn. Despite her best efforts, Emmett still made a mistake. And we all know Jasper tries, but he makes mistakes too. Even Esme and I have had our share of incidents. Just don't be too overconfident."

"I'm right here!" I said, annoyed with them talking about me even though I was only inches from Alice.

"I know," she said. "But I'm just saying…"

I shook my head with annoyance. "Well, while the two of you talk about me, could I take a shower? I just really need to think about things right now." I mainly just needed to get away from everything. Away from everyone's lack of trust in me. Away from the silent conversations going on that aren't meant for me to hear. Away from everything that reminds me of anything.

Alice nodded. "You can use my bathroom if you like. You obviously need something new to put on, so I'm sure Rosalie will let you borrow something of hers. You're about the same size now."

I nodded and hopped off the bed and went over to the door. I hesitated before opening, but I took my chances and carefully placed my hand on it and turned it. I was pleased to see it unscathed. I opened it and gently closed it behind me. I instantly stopped breathing and began my trek downstairs. As I approached Rosalie and Emmett's room, I became apprehensive about going in there, knowing Emmett and I had had choice words earlier on the subject of the wolves and my wanting to stay in the house while Charlie was around, and I didn't want to get any more on his bad side. And of course there was Rosalie.

As I pondered on what exactly I was going to do, I found myself finally face to face with their bedroom door. Steeling myself for the worst, I gently tapped on the door and hoped that I could just go in and get out quickly.

"Come in," I heard Rosalie say with a bored sigh from inside.

I slowly turned the knob and came in, making sure to shut the door behind me. Rosalie was lying on a large plush couch with a bottle of red fingernail polish in hand. She looked at me with surprise when she saw whom it was that had come in. She quickly closed the bottle and set it down on the floor and sat up straight and folded her hands in her lap like this was some proper meeting.

"Bella," she said quickly. "What are you doing here?"

I wasn't sure if the scent that Charlie had left behind was prevalent in Rosalie's room or not, but I took my chances anyway. Tentatively, I tested the air and was relieved to smell nothing out of the ordinary. I inhaled largely and smiled before remembering whom it was that I was with and what I was doing.

"Well," I began, suddenly uneasy. "I was… Umm… Well I was just wondering if I could, maybe, borrow some clothes? I was going to take a shower and I don't have anything else to put on…" I stood there at the door, staring at the spot just above Rosalie's head and rocking back and forth on my feet. I felt odd asking this of Rosalie. After all, I wasn't her favorite person right now.

"Yeah, of course," she said with a small smile. "Follow me," she said as she fluidly rose from her seat and walked off toward a door I'd never been in. In fact, I'd never even been in her room once I thought about it. It was similar to every other room, with the large windows that were characteristic of the whole house. The walls were painted white, with silver and black furniture and decorations scattered throughout. It was very simple and elegant. I vaguely noticed the abundance of mirrors as well. Something I would imagine of Rosalie.

She led me through the door and I found myself in a closet rivaling Alice's own. "Wow," I breathed as I walked in, slightly amazed at the collection. I let my hand trail across the delicate fabrics as I walked up and down the closet, admiring everything. Rosalie's closet was meticulously organized, with everything in a certain place and order. Ball gowns were placed at the farthest end and organized by length and color. And then the formal attire like dress suits and things you'd see at the Kentucky Derby. They were sorted by color as well. But my attention was on the more casual garments.

"Pick out anything you like," Rosalie said after hopping up to sit upon an organizer filled with her dressy shoes. I glanced over at her and nodded. I began browsing through her shirts and was disheartened to find most of her shirts lacking in modesty. Of course, that didn't really surprise me.

Suddenly, breaking the awkward silence, Rosalie spoke up and shocked me completely by saying, "Bella, you know I don't hate you, right?"

My head shot up in surprise and I looked at her with utter bewilderment. She was looking down and playing with a clothes hanger she'd picked up from somewhere. She looked up warily at me when I didn't answer. But how could I answer? What could I say to that? I knew that Rosalie didn't really and truly hate me, but I also knew that she didn't really like me.

I finally settled on saying, "I guess so."

She sighed. "I'm sorry I said that this was more trouble than it's worth earlier. I was just really frustrated with how complicated things were."

"I- I understand, I suppose," I replied, momentarily forgetting about my search for clothes altogether. "But I just don't understand why you don't really like me."

"It's not that I don't like you. It's just… It's just complicated for me. I told you my story once before. Do you remember what I told you?" I nodded. "Well, I was mad at you for wanting to be one of us. I was mad because you wanted to give up being human, because you wanted to give up your chance at a happy life. And now that you finally have what you thought you wanted, you're not as contented as you thought you'd be. I can see that. And I'm just upset that I didn't try harder to keep you away from Edward. I feel like I could've saved everyone a lot of trouble if I'd only convinced Edward to leave you alone when he met you. So I'm not mad with you, Bella. I'm mad with myself because now things are getting difficult. With the Volturi coming, and Charlie visiting, its just really making me feel awful."

"It's not your fault, Rosalie. You shouldn't blame yourself for this because no matter what you tried, I doubt Edward would have listened. And this isn't all that bad. If I hadn't met you guys, I wouldn't be engaged right now and I wouldn't be about to start a new life with my new family."

"But do the pros out weigh the cons?" She stared at me, waiting for an answer that I couldn't give. It had been a constant tug-o-war with me on whether I was happy or upset. Barely ten minutes ago I'd been sitting in the garage in a deep and unending depression, and I still wasn't out of it. But before that, I'd been so happy when it was just Edward and I in the meadow, before I'd fed. It was like a constant battle that never stopped. It was always raging inside me, and no matter how hard I wanted to find a happy medium between acceptance and despair, I really couldn't.

I sat down on the ground and took my head in my hands and sighed. "How did you adjust?" I asked after a moment of silence. "How did you accept everything? I thought that it would be easy, but its really not. It's far from it."

"Acceptance comes with time, I guess. Though I don't think you are ever really okay with it. It becomes a fact of life and you just move on. We do what we have to to survive and keep everything else we're capable of in check."

"Does it get easier? I know that I won't be a newborn forever and that I'll be able to venture out into the world, but even then, isn't it hard? When I'm outside, the scent of any animal tempts me. I can only imagine how hard it is with humans."

Rosalie smiled kindly to me. "Yeah, that part does get easier. Sometimes when I was younger, I questioned my control, but I managed to keep myself from killing anyone." She scoffed. "Well, I should rephrase that and say that I managed to keep myself from biting anyone. I'm not completely innocent." I nodded, knowing what she meant. She'd killed her fiancé and his goons after she was changed. I could only imagine how hard it was for her.

"And how did you keep from biting them? You were so young. From what everyone keeps saying, it's apparently really hard to control your thirst as a newborn."

"Sometimes I don't know how I managed to do it. I was careful not to shed any blood, but even that was barely enough. But if you try hard enough, it can be done. Carlisle and I know. You just have to have faith in yourself and faith in Edward if you want to pull through. And besides, you seem to be a prodigy anyway because you're able to go longer between feedings."

"It doesn't make me feel any better thought. Even now, my throat is burning and I feel something inside me pulling me to do things I know I shouldn't. It's been that way ever since Alice had the vision of Charlie coming."

"You should probably get Edward to take you hunting then. It's not a good idea to let it build."

"I know, but it's nothing major. It's not as bad as it was when I first hunted. I can try and put if off a little bit longer, at least," I said with a grin.

Rosalie raised an eyebrow in question but said nothing else on the matter. Instead, she changed the subject and said, "Well, you'd better pick something out to wear and get showered or else Edward will think you've run off."

"We wouldn't want that," I replied as I rose from the floor. Before I continued browsing, I went over to Rosalie and did the unthinkable. I embraced her in a hug. "Thank you," I whispered, truly grateful that she let me talk with her and also grateful that she wasn't mad with me.

"It's no problem," she replied with a genuine smile.

* * *

**(A/N: Well, this was a sucky chapter. Really, it was. I've rewrote it 3 times, and even now I don't like it one little bit. But I need to update and besides: I'm anxious to write the following chapters. I think that's why I had so much trouble with this one because I'm in a rush to get to things much more exciting. :D)**


	17. Playing Dead

**(A/N: Edward's not as in-character as he was in Chapter Fourteen, but oh well. Its good enough. :P And I have a twinge of writer's block, but my semi-finished chapter summaries shall keep me going through. :) And this is by far the longest chapter. BY FAR! So it is lengthy, but worth it in the end, I promise.)**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen  
****Playing Dead**

**Edward's POV**

"Are you going to be okay while I'm gone today?" I asked as Bella and I lay curled on up on the bed, looking out of the window so we could watch morning creep upon us. I was feeling very uneasy about leaving her alone with Emmett and Jasper. It's not that I didn't trust them, because I did. It was only that I feared something would happen when I wasn't around. I gently stroked her hair as the dim light began to make its way over the treetops.

"I think I can manage," she said as she rolled over to face me. I could tell she was joking because of the bright smile on her face. "Though I don't know what I'm going to do while you're away," she added as she took her finger and placed it on my lips, slowly moving it down until she reached the middle of my chest. She looked into my eyes and smirked.

I grinned and pulled her closer to me, wrapping my arms around her to keep her from moving away. "Oh, I don't know," I replied nonchalantly. "You could probably watch some TV," I said before planting a light kiss upon her forehead. "Or read a book…" I placed my lips upon her brow, causing her to let out a giggle. "Or challenge Emmett to an arm wrestling match… I'm sure he'd love that…" I easily found my way to her own lips and kissed her, tracing circles on her back as I did so. She eagerly returned my gesture and it wasn't long before her wandering hands found their way into my hair.

"I wish you didn't have to go," she mumbled quietly as I trailed kisses down her neck to her collarbone. "I wish you could just stay here."

"I wish I could stay too," I said as I pulled away slowly, grudgingly. Talking was not something I wanted to do at the moment, but I did anyway. "But we both know that this is for the best. We need to get out of Forks as quickly as possible."

She nodded and sighed. She stroked my cheek as she gazed into my eyes. "You need to hunt," she said. "They're turning black."

"And you do too, I see," I added. Her eyes were a very dark crimson. I would need to take her once I returned, before the Volturi arrived. My own thirst could wait, since I couldn't afford to take my full attention off of her when there were too many chances that an accident could happen. "I'll take you when I get back," I said, kissing her forehead again.

She nodded and smiled when I resumed what I had been doing. When the kiss deepened, I still wanted to pull away, used to the danger involved with our close contact like this. But I had to remind myself that there was no way that my teeth could cut her, that the venom could accidentally seep into her bloodstream. There was no worry of that anymore. Now we could have a normal relationship. Well… as normal as could be expected considering what we were.

Running my fingers through her beautiful hair, I couldn't help but be intoxicated with her very presence. My thoughts whirled around memories of her. My world revolved around images of her. I pressed her closer to me, not wanting to ever let my wonderful fiancé go.

"I love you," I said as I kissed her ear.

"Same here," she whispered before taking my head in her hands, kissing me fervently.

But when I began to lift her shirt over her head did she hesitate. She softly pushed my hands away and shook her head. "No," she stated strongly. "No, not until we're married. We're going to do things the right way,"

I sighed and rolled over onto my back, looking up at the ceiling. "Well, you were all gung-ho about it not too long ago," I reminded her.

"And if I remember correctly, you were the one wanting to wait. So we wait."

I shook my head. "I don't want to wait any more. I'm tired of waiting."

She smiled and laid her head upon my shoulder and smiled up at me, saying, "Well you'll just have to suffer a little longer then, won't you?" I just rolled my eyes.

By that time, the sun was fully up, though it was hard to tell due to the heavy cloud cover blanketing the sky. Alice had said that the sun wouldn't be out until next Monday, so that gave us all quite a bit of relief. The sun would only make things harder on us. I looked over at the clock and noticed with disdain that it said seven o'clock.

"Its time for me to go now," I told her, getting up off the bed. I walked over to where I kept all of my clothes and quickly put on a white button up shirt with a navy sweater over top as well as a pair of tan pants. I couldn't help but laugh when Bella averted her eyes when I changed into the latter. After I fixed my hair since she'd wreaked such havoc on it earlier, I went and picked her up off the bed, causing her to cry out in surprise. I quickly kissed her cheek and set her down.

"Let's go on downstairs. Everyone's waiting for me." I grabbed her hand and took her downstairs. Carlisle and Esme had left all the windows and doors open over night to let Charlie's smell dissipate, so it was safe for Bella to venture down there without having to worry about anything.

When we got down stairs, Carlisle had just got off the phone with Charlie, telling him that he was about to head up to Aletta. Carlisle looked at me and nodded solemnly. _Are you ready?_ He silently asked me, and I nodded.

_Why did the two of you stop up there? It was just getting good!_ I growled at Emmett, who burst into spasms of laughter. "That's none of you're business," I said menacingly, glaring menacingly at him.

"Well its kind of hard to keep us from knowing about it in this house," he said with a grin. "No privacy, you know?" I shook my head and rolled my eyes. He may have been older than me when he was changed, but that didn't mean he was in any way more mature. He was such a child at times. I looked over at Bella do see her looking down at her foot, shifting nervously. I think she realized what he was implying. I was sure she would have been blushing had she been able to. I put my arm around her and frowned at Emmett who was fighting his laughter now.

"Edward, are you ready to leave?" I nodded to Carlisle, who was standing anxiously by the door with his jacket draped over his arm. "Alright then. Alice, you take Rosalie in your car and Edward and Esme can ride with me."

Alice gave Bella a hug and told her that everything would be fine and that there wasn't anything to worry about. Bella shifted nervously from side to side, but nodded all the same. With a reassuring smile, Alice turned on her heels and walked outside, followed by Rose, who awkwardly waved to Bella. I was glad to see Rose on better terms now. The little chat her and Bella had last night really helped things a lot. But I could tell that there was still a ways to go before the two of them would ever be extremely close. It was an improvement in any case.

After Alice and Rose, Esme came up to Bella and said her words of love, followed by Carlisle. Soon, it was only Bella, Emmett, Jasper and I left. I turned to Bella and I thought I could feel my chest splitting apart when I saw her with her little fists clenched up and her eyes tightly closed. I could see she was visibly shaking.

"Bella," I said as I took my finger and lifted her chin. "I'll be back soon. Okay? Just try and have a little fun while I'm gone, alright? I'm sure these two can find something for you to do." She nodded and laughed, though she still appeared to be upset and hurt. I wished for nothing more than to stay by her side forever and to never leave it, but being a Cullen required one to be meticulously responsible and that was what I was having to be. I only desired for otherwise.

I leaned down and feverishly kissed my Bella as if it were the last. She responded as normal, her arms encircling my neck, pulling herself closer to my. I pulled away after some time with a grin. "I'll be back," I said as I slowly stepped away from her. Turning to Emmett and Jasper I sternly looked at the two of them and clearly stated that I didn't want anything bad to happen while I was gone. They nodded their understanding, and after a moment's hesitation, I was outside and in the garage.

Alice and Rose were already in the Porsche, Rose with her elbow on the rolled down window, her fingers tapping with impatience on the door. Alice was fervently checking the future to make sure nothing would go awry. As of yet, she didn't see anything happening. But that didn't necessarily mean nothing would happen. After all, it all depended on decisions. Carlisle was leaned up against his Mercedes, Esme inside, when I approached them.

"Have you figured out the story you're going to tell Charlie yet?" Carlisle asked me as I fluidly slid into the driver's seat, me getting into the back seat.

I nodded as I stared out of the window while we pulled out of the garage, Alice following behind. Driving past the house, my dead heart ached when I saw Bella on the porch, Jasper and Emmett on either side. She waved desolately as we drove past, and then was led back inside by her two 'brothers'. I sighed and turned my attention back to Carlisle. "Yes," I said. "Something along the lines of, after seeing Bella fall, I dove in after her, only to be buffeted against the rocks. I'll tell him that I could see her blood in the water, but I couldn't find her. I'll tell him that there wasn't anyway she could have survived." It was hard to even think about what was coming from my mouth because it was all too close to what happened when I foolishly abandoned Bella. Nothing good came out of leaving her. Only tragedy and misery.

Carlisle nodded. "It should do."

"Afterwards, you should act as if your dying," Esme added conversationally, as if this were nothing at all. "That way we can take you back the car and return home as quickly as possible."

I nodded. Through the tinted windows I watched as we quickly sped away from Forks. Every time we were about to pass someone, I would warn Carlisle so he could slow down to the dreadfully slow speed limit. Afterward, he'd return to a nice 120mph.

The two of them lapsed into easy conversation about funeral arrangements as if it were an every day occasion. I could help but smirk at the dark humor and irony I found there. They talked like planning their son's and soon to be daughter-in-law's funerals was as every day event. I do recall, however, in 1960 when we faked Emmett's death due to the circumstances that arose. Not the mention the humans who became too suspicious of us. Vampires weren't as popular back then as they were today, but the humans who encountered us to know that we weren't right. It was one of the few times that we had to relocate forcefully. This time was different however. That death had been simple and easy. But this time we were having to risk a lot more than just exposure. We were risking death by wolves and the Volturi, as well as upsetting an entire community. There was much, much more at stake here.

After some time, we finally reached Aletta beach. Most people within the range of my mental hearing were thinking about either Bella or me. It was about 8:45, an hour and a half after leaving the house. We'd been able to cut quite a bit of time off of the normal driving time with the speed we were going. Even this early, there were about ten or so people already crawling about, but more people than that kept thinking about the young girl and young boy who were most probably already dead. I could hear that little miscreant, Mike Newton, somewhere nearby. He was imagining me pushing her off, the twit. Charlie and Renee and Phil had yet to arrive, and probably wouldn't for another hour or two at the most since they'd probably drive the way most humans do.

"Edward," Carlisle asked as he slowed down to fifteen miles an hour as he slowly drove around the town. "You'll have to get out of the car once we're out of sight of any humans. After that, find some spot on the shore and lie there until Charlie comes to you. I'll try and speed it up as quickly as I can so you can get back to Bella." I nodded as he slowed to a stop in front of a shop that was closed and boarded up. I took off my shoes, knowing that I had 'supposedly taken them off and that they'd been found on the beach'. Esme took them and put them in the floorboard in front of her. After checking to make sure that no humans were watching, I quickly got out of the car and sped down the alley way. My darker side was going crazy since the smell of human was all around me, but I ignored the ache in my throat, the intense yearning. I just kept going.

At the speed I was going, no one would be able to see me breeze past with their naked eye, so I blatantly ran past several people, causing papers and trash to stir in my wake. The confused humans looked around as they tried in vain to find the source. It didn't take very long for me to reach the sandy beach. I knew that I couldn't afford to have footprints leading up to where I was lying, so I began jumping over the rocks that lined the beach. I was lucky that there was so many. I looked down at my watch, which was thankfully waterproof. It read: 8:50 am. I looked around once, to make sure that no one was watching, and listened to make sure no one was around, and then I stood atop the rock closest to the water and dove in. The salty water consumed me, clouding my senses completely. All I could hear was the water rushing in and out of my ears and the scent of saline filled my nostrils. I let myself sink to the bottom, which really wasn't that far. It was only ten feet deep. After a moment of orienting myself, I pushed myself towards the surface and swam towards the shore. At that point, I drug myself onto the sand, making it appear as if I'd struggled to do so. I carefully positioned myself face down in the sand, my head turned so that I could see anyone who came my way, with large jagged rocks on my other side. I was positioned also to where the rocks blocked me from view from any one other than those that would be coming from the way I was facing. It was a perfect set-up. Nothing could go wrong now and I could soon go home after this ordeal and be with Bella. So now all there was left to do was wait.

Alice had seen what I had planned on doing, so she knew exactly were I was. When Charlie arrived, she would merely have to lead him this way and they'd _shockingly_ come upon me. I kept tabs on what was happening as I lay there unmoving on the beach by listening to those around me. Alice and Rose had come upon some people from school and were talking with them. Angela was there along with Ben, Jessica, that wretched Mike, Eric, Tyler, and even Lauren Mallory. They'd apparently arrived not long before we had and had only begun looking. Carlisle and Esme were waiting near the car for Alice to call and tell them when Charlie would arrive. According to Alice's vision, he'd arrive at 9:15, which meant that he was surprisingly driving fast to get here. It was mildly shocking since he was one of Forks' finest.

So I lay there upon the sand, already bored and wishing I was with Bella, holding her and loving her and being so glad to be with her. I imagined her lying next to me on this little spot of beach, and I came to realize that I'd picked quite a romantic spot. In about fifty years or so, I should bring her back here and see what she thought about it. No doubt she'd love it. We'd probably be married by then, and she'd be well adjusted to this life. I looked forward to the day when she was able to walk with humans and not be geared by her thirst. I easily imagined all of us nicely situated in some school, Bella either posing to be a Hale, in our family story that we told everyone, or possibly being an only child adopted my Carlisle and Esme. I imagined us all sitting at some table, our trays in front of us, Bella and I holding hands, Emmett making some joke, Alice and Jasper whispering quiet words of love to each other and Rosalie staring into a shiny object, thinking no one was noticing. Compared to forever, fifty years was just a short while away.

Of course, these first two years or so would be pretty hard on us, Bella particularly. If we could get past these first few years without incident, everything just might turn out okay. If Bella did slip up, which I would try my best to prevent, it would be hard for her, but in the end she'd learn to live with it. Just like she would soon learn to live with the wolf from yesterday. With time all things would mend, but time needs the help of love and acceptance for much progress to be made.

I glanced up at the clouds without moving my head to make sure that no sun was escaping, and sure enough the cloud cover was reliably gray and solid. I would hate for it to be otherwise. If I started to glitter around humans, they would think I was some sort of ethereal spirit or something and either start taking pictures or run away screaming. Which, of course, is what they would normally do if they found out what I really was anyway. The first choice, though, would be the more ridiculous of the two. So as I lay there like a statue, barely even letting my chest rise and fall with my breath, I became aware of Charlie drawing near. Having heard his thoughts before, it was easy to pick his mind voice out of the static in my head. I could pick out Renee as well, since I'd went down to Jacksonville with Bella and met her. Just as I'd suspected, Charlie was driving eighty and feeling guilty all the way. But Bella was fueling his speed and he wasn't about to slow down until he was here.

Alice, who'd went and got the others so they could congregate where Charlie would pull in, told me that it was almost time, as if I didn't already hear her thoughts and see her vision myself. In a matter of minutes, Charlie had pulled in and the search was on. It was excruciatingly painful to hear Charlie's panicked thoughts as he played scenarios of finding a gruesome corpse instead of his daughter, or never finding her at all. I felt completely responsible for his pain and for his loss, but it was for the best. After all, perhaps having him think her dead would be better than him knowing the truth. If he thought her dead, then the image of the Bella he knew would be immortalized in his mind and would be the sweet, innocent and clumsy thing he remembered. If he knew the truth, that image would be scarred forever and all he would ever be able to see would be what she was, and not Bella herself. _Yes, this option is best_, I told myself. _It is definitely for the best._

It didn't take long for the sound of voices to drift to my ears. It wasn't Charlie and my family, but Mike Newton and a few others from the school. They were on the other side of the rock and I was shielded from view.

"It's a pity what happened," Lauren said with a yawn. "But I'm sure that they couldn't have survived. We're basically wasting our time."

"Shut up, Lauren!" Mike snapped angrily, and I heard a loud resounding crack. From their thoughts I registered that Mike slapped Lauren, resulting in shock and tears. "Bella's out there somewhere, and even if the worst happened, she deserves a proper funeral! She should at least be put to rest!"

"Mike," Angela said quietly. "Calm down, please." I heard Mike whimper, and soon he was silently crying. "We'll find her, don't worry. And Edward, too."

"I couldn't care less about that jerk. I don't understand why Bella took him back after her hurt her like that. After leaving her. I wouldn't have ever done anything like that to her if she'd decided to be with me."

It was incredibly tempting not to jump up and crush his little head in my hands. So very tempting…

"Mike, you forget Jessica. You have her now. Bella made her choice and you shouldn't blame yourself for this, because I know that's what you're doing. It's not your fault."

"It was bad enough with you fawning over her when she was alive, and now's not any better," Lauren sulkily added. Mike contemplated slapping her again after that comment. I had to hand it to him because he did care about her, but he was still obnoxious and still came out the loser at the end of the battle when Bella first came to Forks. He needed to let it go.

I continued to listen to them talk about Bella and what may or may not have happened to her, but as I did so, the voices of Charlie yelling out Bella's name, and Carlisle mine, rang loud and clear in my ears. It was almost time.

"Bella!" Charlie screamed. "Edward!"

"Edward, honey! Can you hear me?" Esme shouted. "Bella, dear? Hello?"

They continued to call until Lauren, Mike, and Angela heard as well. "Is that Charlie calling?" Angela asked curiously. They had moved noticeably closer to the rock. They were probably twenty-five feet away from me and they didn't even know it.

"I think it is," Mike added after listen to a few more of their shouts. "Come on," he said. I braced myself. They were coming around the rock now and they were sure to see me. It was well enough since they'd probably go and get Charlie and bring him here. If only I could resist ripping Mike Newton's throat out…

"Oh my God!" Lauren shouted as she rounded the corner and caught sight of me. "Oh my God, oh my God!"

"What?" Mike asked anxiously as he caught up with her. "Oh…" he said as he saw me as well. I wasn't able to see them clearly, but I could tell from their thoughts that they wasn't sure if I was alive or dead. They just stood their, dumbfounded for a few moments until Angela joined them.

"It's Edward," she shouted at the top of her lungs, running toward me and into my line of sight. "We've found Edward," she shouted again as she fell to her knees in front of me.

"Is he alive?" Lauren asked, still not having moved from where she'd planted herself.

Angela grabbed my face and I felt her shiver as she did so. "He's freezing cold!" I took in a ragged breath to signify that I was indeed alive, since I couldn't afford to have her check my nonexistent pulse. "He's alive! CHARLIE! WE'VE FOUND EDWARD!"

I heard the excited voices of Charlie and most of all, Esme's desperate wails. "Edward,' she screamed frantically. "Where's my Edward?" They finally came into view and I saw Esme leading the group, Carlisle behind, followed by a panting Charlie. A few yards behind them came Alice, Rose, Eric, Jessica, and Tyler.

"Help me turn him over," Angela said to Mike as the others approached. Mike jogged over to us and grabbed my shoulder and between the two of them managed to get me onto my back. I started breathing shallowly, gasping for breath especially when they turned me over. I had to be convincing, as did my family, if this was going to work and couldn't spare any effect at all. If I had to yell, 'Woe is me, woe is me,' to convince everyone, then so be it. It was utterly important that they didn't doubt anything.

"Charlie," I whispered quietly, struggling greatly.

"Shh," Angela whispered, truly worried about me. Mike stood there awkwardly, looking at me, not knowing what to do. Lauren hadn't moved and just stood their watching, dumbstruck. "Don't talk."

"Charlie," I whispered again.

Soon the others had reached us and Esme fell to her knees next to me, and Angela scooted away. She cradled my head in her lap and sobbed. "Are you okay? Edward, can you hear me? Edward, honey?"

I looked up at her, acting as if I didn't see her for a moment, before murmuring, "Esme…"

"It's me, Edward. It's me."

"Carlisle, what's wrong with him? He's not right. Something's not right!" Esme wailed loudly, clutching me to her.

Carlisle kneeled down beside me and acted as if he were examining me and looked down gravely. I turned my head slowly to him. "Charlie, where's Charlie?" I asked with slurred speech.

"I'm here," he said from behind Esme. "What is it, Edward?" he asked softly, sadly. In his mind he was thinking about how horrible he'd been to me, or at least how horrible he spoke of me with Bella. He came over to me and sat down as well. "I'm here."

"I'm s- sorry. I- I tried," I choke, acting as if breathing was becoming difficult. "But she was there, and I turn a- turn around and when I look b- back around she was gone." I gasped for air, which cued Esme to stroke my cheek lovingly as she fought back her sobs. "I went… I went in after her but it w- was too late. The- the rocks. Sh- she hit them." I gasped again. "I tried s-s- so hard to f-find her."

"Shh, don't talk. It'll be okay. You'll be okay," Esme whispered, putting her head down on my shoulder and pretended to cry.

"N-no. I tr-tried to find her… But the blood… So m-much blood… A- and the current… It was making me h-hit the rocks… She was gone," I whispered quietly. "She was gone. The b-blood. N-no way. No way…"

"Shh, son," Carlisle said as he ruffled my damp hair from my trip into the water. "Shh…" I heard Rose and Alice crying in the background.

"It's okay," Charlie whimpered, tears streaming down his face steadily. "It wasn't your fault." Renee fell to her knees and clutched her head in her hands, screaming obscenities one after another at no one in particular.

Just then, Alice was pulled away by a vision and I the corner of my eye I could see her staring off into nothingness. But what I saw in her mind scared me more than anything I'd ever encountered in my life.

_Bella was running through the woods, a hungry look in her black eyes. Emmett and Jasper were following behind her as best they could, but they couldn't catch up. Jasper was concentrating hard, obviously trying to calm her down, but it only made her more focused on what she was doing. Soon, she emerged from the trees and next to the road, where there was a lone hitchhiker walking down the road. He didn't even have time to look around. Bella pounced on him with a feral growl and the man was instantly dead. Bella fed without a look of remorse._

I remained completely still and hadn't realized that I wasn't even breathing until Charlie began to frantically ask what was wrong. I resumed my shallow breaths, unable to afford breaking the cover now. If I got up and ran to Bella right now, every thing would be ruined and it would cause more trouble than before. So I lay there and tried to control my breathing. Alice, keeping up pretenses as well, covered her eyes and cried as she walked over to Carlisle where she knelt beside him and hugged him. I heard her whisper to him what she saw, too low for any of the humans to understand. Carlisle looked over shockingly at her, then at me, and nodded only slightly.

The race to save Bella from herself was on.

**(A/N: Okay, so woo! What do you think? The next chapter will be in Bella's POV and will begin from where Edward leaves and up to the point of the vision and a little bit past the vision. But the next chapter will have some little funny parts in it to lighten it up. A wrestling scene of some sort as suggested by one my reviewers. :) And don't act so suprised about Bella killing someon! You knew she was going to kill someone. I've been leading up to it and I basicaly tell you in chapter two in the summary. :P Though I was planning on having her do it much later, but this oppurtunity was so nice! :D)**


	18. Hitchhiker

**(A/N: I know I've said this five million gazillion billion times, but I'm serious this time. I've officially written up chapter summaries for my stories. Previously, the chapter summaries I wrote were never really finished and I never really knew how I was going to end it. But now I do. There will be 33 chapters and an Epilogue. There is room for a sequel, but I doubt if I will. When my friend, Daughter of the Silver Moon, read the summaries, she liked them pretty well except for a big idea I've thrown in there, so that's subject to change, but it really won't make that much of a difference. So, on to Chapter 18! For the record, if you can't figure it out, this chapter begins when Edward and everyone leaves. And I'm going to tell you now, Bella completely loses herself in this chapter. She looses all sense of humanity and she's completely taken over by what she is. There's going to be some people not like this chapter, but I've told you since the beginning that she was going to break the treaty. :S So please don't hate me.)**

**Chapter Eighteen  
Hitchhiker**

**Bella's POV**

"Edward, are you ready to leave?" Edward nodded solemnly to Carlisle, who was standing anxiously by the door with his jacket draped over his arm. "Alright then. Alice, you take Rosalie in your car and Edward and Esme can ride with me." I sighed and looked down dejectedly. I truly wished that Edward didn't have to leave me. It felt like a part of me was being slowly ripped out and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt as if my entire world was caving in on itself and I had no way of being saved. It was a completely desolate feeling that the thoughts of Edward leaving me evoked.

Alice noticed my distress and she came up to me, hugging me fiercely. "Bella, listen to me," Alice said sternly, making me look her in the eye. "Everything will be fine, okay? Nothing's going to happen as far as I can see, so there's nothing to worry about. Alright?" I guiltily looked away and shifted my weight to the other foot. I felt culpable for not believing her, but something inside me told me that she was wrong. I knew deep down that she was very wrong. But when her face became laden with sadness at my reluctance to believe her words, I nodded anyway. Perhaps I could make myself believe her words, but even then, I wouldn't feel any better about being separated from my love. Alice obviously saw through my guise, because she hugged me again, this time more gently, and gave me a reassuring smile before turning on her heels and going outside. Rose followed Alice outside, but not before smiling and waving awkwardly at me. It was a start, I supposed. At least Rose was acknowledging my presence in a more positive manner now.

"Bella, sweetie," Esme said as she took her turn with me. "I know you're uneasy about this, but don't worry. We'll take good care of Edward, and Emmett and Jasper will take good care of you. We love you so much, Bella, and we wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to you. We'll love you no matter what." I nodded and accepted her motherly embrace, thankful for such loving kindness that seemed to radiate from this wonderful woman. All of the Cullens, including me now, I guess, were lucky to have her as a mother figure. Her words seemed to ring with a certain truth and assurance. It was hard to feel my doubts combating her seemingly honest words, though.

Carlisle was next and he placed his hand upon my shoulder and smiled warmly to me. "Don't worry about us too much because we'll be back before you know it." He placed a stray hair behind my ear and sighed. "I wish just as much as you do that he didn't have to leave, but it's for the best. I hope you understand?" I clenched my eyes shut and balled my hands into fists as I nodded, hoping that I could just block out everything.

"I understand," I said lowly, my entire body shaking with despair. I heard Carlisle exhale dejectedly and then walk out.

"Bella," Edward said as I felt his finger under my chin, lifting my head up so that I would look at him.. "I'll be back soon. Okay? Just try and have a little fun while I'm gone, all right? I'm sure these two can find something for you to do." I nodded and laughed as I imagined what horrors my two babysitters would think up. But I still couldn't seem to stop feeling so upset. And I honestly wished that I could be okay with him leaving. But I just couldn't. I just couldn't let it go because doing so was the epitome of pain for me.

I looked up into his anguished eyes and was taken aback when all of a sudden his lips were crushing mine as if it would be our last. This kiss was urgent, and had so much meaning packed into it that I was so overwhelmed with emotion. From that single kiss, I knew that Edward loved me more than he could ever love anything else in the world, and I felt the same way about him. From that kiss, I knew that Edward was hurting just as much as I was at that moment. I put my arms around his neck and pulled myself as close as possible to him, clinging to him desperately.

He pulled away, as always, and with his crooked grin said, "I'll be back." He gently pushed me away as if I were a delicate figuring and looked at me lovingly for a moment before turning his attention to his brothers, who were still in the room.

He looked at the two of them intensely, staring at each of them boldly. "I don't want _anything_ to happen while I'm gone. Understand?" It was strange seeing Edward being so authoritative. Jasper and Emmett must have thought so too, because they were subdued and quiet as they nodded their complete understanding and compliance. Edward looked at them for a minute, then at me, his eyes unsure and scared, and finally made his way outside.

I stood there staring at the empty doorway until Jasper and Emmett came up on either side of me. Emmett ruffled my hair playfully and said, "Cheer up. You can have just as much fun with Edward as you can with us." Then he looked over at Jasper in second thought. "Well… maybe not _as much_ fun as you guys were having upstairs a minute ago, but we'll think of something." I stared at him in horror as he burst into bouts of laughter as Jasper slapped him on the back of the head.

I shook my head and made my way out onto the porch, mortified at what Emmett said. The two of them quickly followed, each of them taking hold of my arms. The scents of the outdoors flooded my nose and I quickly shook my head and tried my best to ignore the urge building inside me, the thirst that was quickly intensifying. Jasper looked down at me from the corner of his eye, but I didn't meet his gaze. I knew what he was thinking. He, of all of them, could identify with my problem all too well. I knew that if it got any worse, I would have no choice but to ask Emmett and Jasper to take me. It was an incredibly uncomfortable and an almost painful yearning, and being outside with so much wild_life_ around didn't help. I would try and put it off as long as I could, at least until Edward was back. But if I couldn't hold out, then I would have no other option. I felt Jasper's power working on me, melting my tension and stress away. I smiled thankfully at him. His ability did ease the thirst, but it didn't take it away completely.

Soon I heard the cars start up and Carlisle's black Mercedes came into view. I raised my hand and waved desperately, hoping that Edward was looking my way. I couldn't tell if he could see me or not through those dark tinted windows.

"Come on," Jasper said, calming me down some more, as I was led back inside. I turned my head around to see if I could still see my beloved, but the car was already gone and out of sight.

"So what now?" Emmett said as he fell down fluidly onto the couch, his feet propped up on the other end, his left arm behind his head. He picked up the remote to the TV and began surfing through the channels. I took a seat on the loveseat while Jasper knocked Emmett's feet out of the way to make room.

"What do you want to do, Bella?" Emmett said as he paused a channel that made me turn my head in embarrassment.

"Not watch that," I mumbled, staring a particularly interesting fly that had found its way into the house. Emmett laughed and changed the channel to some random court case that was being televised.

"Is a movie okay with you?" Jasper asked as he ran his fingers through his hair lazily. I shrugged my shoulders. It really didn't matter to me. I wouldn't be able to focus on it anyway with Edward gone. Jasper's power did take away some of the hurt and pain I was feeling, but my thoughts kept straying to my dear Edward. A movie would only give me more time to think about things.

"I vote Rambo!" Emmett said, raising his hand quickly as if his vote actually counted.

"And I vote not," Jasper replied dryly. "Bella? What do you want to watch?"

"Whatever is fine with me," I said as I curled up on the loveseat, laying my head down on the arm. Jasper nodded and quickly disappeared to find something to put in. I couldn't help but giggle when Emmett put his legs back on the couch where Jasper had been sitting.

"So, Bella," Emmett said as he craned his neck around to look over at me. "How are you holding up? You looked pretty tense when we went outside. And don't lie and say your fine if you're really not."

I sighed. "I'm okay for now, because Jasper's power is helping. But I'll have to get Edward to take me when he gets back."

He nodded. "If it gets really bad, just tell us and we'll take you if you want us to."

"Thank, I appreciate it. But I'm going to try to hold out till Edward is here." Emmett nodded again.

Soon Jasper was back and he quickly put in a DVD. "Phantom of the Opera," he said, to Emmett's displeasure, as he once again knocked a certain pair of legs out of the way to sit down.

I didn't really know what to expect, but as the movie began, I was a bit surprised. I didn't peg Jasper as a fan of musicals and I myself didn't fall into that category either. But as it progressed, I found myself actually enjoying it. The scary part was that I could actually relate to Christine. Stuck in an odd love triangle with a mysterious, yet dangerous, man on one end, and a dashing and caring man on the other. It wasn't a surprise to me that I ended up rooting for the phantom.

But even though I found myself watching the movie with interest, the animalistic feeling deep down inside me kept intensifying. I tried my best to stay focused on Christine's dilemma, but I couldn't do so entirely. Jasper kept looking over at me, his eyes filled with worry, but I'd smile and try to refocus on the TV.

"Let's go. You need to hunt," Jasper said finally, standing up and coming over to me.

I looked up at him and shook my head. "I can wait," I lied. The truth was, if I waited any longer, I'd probably go insane. Even now my body was tensed and my teeth were clenched shut. My throat was burning and my stomach reeling. There was no way I was going to make it much longer. But I still secretly hoped that Edward was on his way back right now and that he'd be coming down the drive at any moment.

Jasper shook his head. "Your eyes are pitch black and your emotions are all over the place. You can't wait."

"We know how much you wanted to wait for Edward," Emmett added as he got up and came to stand beside Jasper. "And we'd rather wait for Edward too, but we can't. You aren't able to linger that long. So come on," he said as he held out his hand to me. "Let's go."

I sighed, knowing that the two of them were completely and utterly right. I took my brother's hand and he hauled me to me feet. The two of them glanced nervously at each other, apparently as apprehensive as I was, but they didn't say anything. I followed Jasper out the door, Emmett following behind me, and soon we were off. My human visage almost instantly faded away and nothing remained inside of me but the monster.

It didn't take long for me to hone in on something that sent me reeling. I didn't know what it was, but I followed it anyway. It was frustrating when raindrops slowly began to fall, diluting the scent, but I still kept going all the same.

After a few maddening moments of frantic searching, I found it. There was a massive animal bedded down under a tree. An elk. It had taken me some time to find it, because the rain made it all the more difficult and the wind was blowing the scent in every direction. The elk had heard my approach, and looked warily around. Its ear twitched as it scanned the area, but I struck before it had a chance to see me. It bellowed loudly and got onto its feet quickly when I latched onto it. It attempted to run, but I snarled, sounding much like a mountain lion, and made quick work of getting it down on the ground. Within moments I'd put it out of its misery, and eased my own pain that the intense thirst caused.

"Bella, we need to go," Emmett said from behind me, startling me. I jumped up from where I was crouched and spun to face him, hissing as I did so.

"Stop breathing. Now." Emmett glared at me and made an intimidating step towards me. But it was too late. Through the scent of the fell elk, another aroma found its way toward me. It was unlike anything that I'd ever encountered before, and my entire being screamed for it. The essence of what I was told me that this was what I was meant to have. And I had every intention of getting it.

Without another thought, I looked to Emmett, and then to Jasper who was standing there without inhaling, and shook my head. "No," I said and took off.

I knew exactly what it was I was after. What it was that I was hunting now smelled much more appealing than any animal I'd come across. Any scent that I'd discovered in the forest, it was nothing compared to this. Venom pooled in my mouth quickly and soon it began trickling down my chin as I sped through the forest. Nothing would separate me from the human that I'd discovered. Nothing at all.

I heard Emmett curse loudly from behind me, and then two pairs of feet trying to catch up with me. But they didn't matter. I was too far ahead and I grinned because of it.

"Bella, you don't want to do this! Stop! Please!" Emmett's words met my ears clearly, but they didn't mean anything to me. I felt a peculiar sensation fall upon my body, like water slowly being poured over me. It was Jasper. I could feel his power trying to deter me, trying to calm me down, and trying to completely relax my body. But I wouldn't let it. I fought against it as hard as I could and kept on going, trying to find the human that was somewhere near. Again the rain, which was falling a little harder now from the dark sky, made it increasingly difficult. I kept going nonetheless.

"If I don't stop now, you're going to kill someone. What would you do then, huh? What if you find this person and it turns out to be someone you know. What if it's Charlie, Bella? Huh? What then?"

"Shut up," I snarled back at Emmett, angered by his words. Why didn't he understand? Didn't he smell it? Did it not tempt him beyond the point of caring? Why did the Cullens fight what they were, if it meant denying themselves of this wonderful thing? I pushed my legs as hard as I could and raced toward bliss.

I heard an earsplitting, reverberating crack sound from behind me and I glanced back to see Emmett holding an enormous branch. He looked at me determinedly and hurled it in my direction. I jumped upwards, narrowly missing the limb, and landed gracefully back onto the forest floor. Unfortunately, Emmett and Jasper had been given time by my jump to catch up somewhat, and now they were trailing only thirty feet behind me.

As I ran ahead, I saw a very dim light up ahead, signaling that the trees were thinning out. And to my utter joy, the scent of human got stronger and more overwhelming with every step I took. Soon I broke through the trees to mind myself next to the road, and up ahead, a lone hitchhiker standing beside it. He had a green jacket on pulled up over his head to shield himself from the rain and was running up the road. I had no idea why this person was outside in the middle of the rain, or why he was running, but I didn't care.

I felt no pity whatsoever, only ecstasy as I attacked him from behind. I snarled as I put my arm around his waist, causing a few ribs to crack, and drug him back into the forest away from the road. He screamed in pain and surprise, but I quieted that scream as I grabbed him by the neck, crushing his windpipe, which left him gasping.

"Bella, stop!" I heard Emmett scream from behind me as he tried to get to me before I finished the deed. But he didn't make it in time. I looked at the human and met his terrified green eyes with my own crimson ones before I bit him. He struggled to breathe as I fed, trying to hit me, trying to swat at me, anything to get me away from him. But I would not be budged. His gasps for air slowed down, few and far between. His hand that had been swatting at me resigned itself to twitching. And soon, he lay still beneath me.

I heard Emmett and Jasper finally catch up to me, and the came to stand on either side of me. They made no move to stop me now that the human was dead. There was no point to stop me now. The two of them stood solemnly by me, the rain slowly running down their faces, making the illusion of tears. When I pulled away finally, I felt Jasper's hand on my shoulder. I jerked away from it, which only caused Emmett to grab my other shoulder, and soon I was struggling between the two of them to get free.

As we fought, a deafening chorus of howls echoed throughout the woods, and the sound of dozens of paws filled the dreary morning air. Jasper and Emmett grimaced at each other and tried even harder to control me.

**(A/N: Alrighty. So yeah... I will probably get hate mail for this chapter. :S But I promise you! This story will have a happy ending and everyone will come out relatively unscathed and Bella isn't going to be a rebellious bloodthirsty monster. Scout's honor. So I'd really love some feed back. My goal for this chapter is to have 10 or more reviews, but if I don't get them, well, then that's fine I guess.)**


	19. Confrontations

(A/N: I'm switching to Jasper's POV because Bella's POV isn't going to be very helpful in telling the story at the moment

(A/N: I'm switching to Jasper's POV because Bella's POV isn't going to be very helpful in telling the story at the moment. She's too… distracted… hehe. Well, I don't know if what happens in this chapter can really happen in the books, but I'm saying it can for my purposes. )

**Chapter Nineteen **

**Confrontations**

**Jasper's POV**

When the howls broke through the air, I realized that things were about to get really bad really fast if we didn't get back to the house. The wolves were getting closer with every second that ticked by, and if we didn't either get Bella calmed down or get ourselves back to the safety of the mansion, we were probably about to be killed. And even then, there wasn't a guarantee that we'd all make it out alive.

I moved my head out of the way when Bella swung at me, snarling and struggling to get free. 'House,' I mouthed to Emmett, who was snarling just as much back at our feral charge.

"Bella," he shouted, not caring that the wolves were probably in hearing distance. They already knew what had happened anyway. There was no point for discretion. "Bella stop this right now! Do you want to die? Do you want Edward to come back and find you as a pile of ashes? Because I swear to you that if you don't get a hold of yourself right now, that's what's going to happen!" She didn't seem to comprehend what he was saying, or either she just didn't care because she hit him across the face with such force that he was knocked to the ground, leaving me alone to try and keep Bella from running into town.

"Let go of me," she shrieked wildly at me, the bloodlust still evident in her eyes. Emmett quickly got back up to help me. I could sense his intense anger. He was trying very hard not to lash out at Bella. Very hard.

"Have it your way," he growled. He looked up in alarm when he noticed that all of a sudden the howling had stopped. His eyes grew wide and frantic. "Get her arms! We're going to have to drag her back."

I nodded and maneuvered myself so that I could grab her arms while Emmett picked up her legs When I reached down to get her arms, I felt an searing pain shoot through my own arm. I knew what had happened without even looking. I'd felt it too many times. I snarled and restrained the natural urge to rip a certain struggling newborn apart. I glanced at my arm to find a fresh bite mark still wet with her venom. I clenched my teeth and grabbed her arms, careful to avoid her teeth this time. When Emmett saw that we were ready, he took the lead. It was difficult to keep going with Bella trying every way possible to get free, but we managed.

Unfortunately, we didn't get very far. After only a few seconds, we spotted the first of the wolves running along side us. It seemed to grin mockingly at us as we raced for safety. Very quickly, more and more of them surrounded us until we were forced to stop when there were no outlets. As the wolves circled us like a vulture circles a dead carcass, Bella finally seemed to realize the danger we were in because she stopped struggling and whimpered. Emmett set her legs down so she could stand on her own and put a restraining arm around her shoulders, as I kept a hold on at least one of her arms.

A dark gray wolf took a step forward, baring his teeth in a threatening manner. It viciously snapped its teeth at us, coming inches away from my stomach. Within moments, the entire pack joined in the circle, except for one, I noticed. Jacob wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"Jasper!" I heard from behind, and I turned around to see Alice, Esme and Rosalie, running through the woods toward us in alarm. The three of them came to a stop when they reached us, Alice's eyes were wide with fright.

"Let us pass," Esme said coolly, looking at the Quileutes as she did so. The Sam wolf nodded his head and Alice and Rosalie rushed to join us in the middle of the circle, followed by a solemn Esme.

"Jasper, are you okay?" Alice said as she wrapped her tiny arms around me, her head resting on my shoulder. Grief and terror radiated off of her in waves as she clung to me, her tiny eyes clenched shut as if it would make everything go away. "I Saw her do it," she said quickly, fright ringing through her voice. "We tried to get here to help, but we couldn't. And when I couldn't See you anymore, I thought the worst!"

"Shh," I said quietly, rubbing her head soothingly as I glared at the wolves that danced mockingly around us, their canine laughs sounding like a raspy cough. I could feel the enjoyment they were getting out of this. They were all high off the chase and I knew that there was no way they were about to let us go. They'd put up with us Cullen's long enough, and Bella or no Bella, they weren't going to wait around to kill us. They'd waited too long to let us linger. To make things even worse, my power to manipulate their feelings did not work. Despite all of my efforts, I couldn't do a thing to stop them. Not even a bit of lethargy or calm or any other emotion came over them.

I looked over at the rest of my family, hoping to find some idea of what I should do to help. Bella was anxious and frightened, her eyes darting back and forth wildly, but remaining in place. She wasn't in control of herself. Her instincts were. Her survival instincts, to be more specific. I looked past her to see Emmett, who had one arm still around Bella, and the other around Rosalie who looked on grimly. In Esme, however, I found hope. She stood in front of us all, standing calmly and serenely as if nothing major was going on. I could sense her timidity, but I could also sense her extreme courage. She locked eyes with Sam, not in a threatening manner. Just in her gaze, she was appealing to their sense of compassion. And her words soon followed.

"She did not mean to do this," Esme said coolly, her hands folded behind her back, her posture straight and sure. "You know Bella. She would never mean to harm anyone."

The Sam wolf bared his teeth at her, taking a few menacing steps toward Esme. But she did not back down.

"I would request that you phase back to your human form. A two way conversation would really help this situation," she said diplomatically.

Sam grunted and roughly nodded. In the blink of an eye, there was a moment where man and wolf was uncertain, and then in an explosion of fur, Sam Uley stood in front of us, not even caring about his exposed self. He glared angrily at each of us before turning his attention back to Esme.

"You know the rules of the treaty, bloodsucker. A human was bit, and more importantly killed, and that gives us the right to tear you apart. And it doesn't make the slightest difference if it was Bella who broke the treaty, you're st-"

"It makes all the difference!" Jacob screamed as he ran towards our large gathering. We all were startled at his sudden appearance, since he was nowhere around only moments before. Jacob bared his teeth, and in a great bounding leap, he hurled himself into the air and a russet wolf landed in his stead.

Before Sam had a chance to cry out in surprise, Jacob was attacking in his full fury. Jake sunk his teeth into Sam's upper arm and shook it like a rag doll, causing a howl of agony cry out through the forests. It didn't take long for Sam to change into his other form, and soon it was an all out battle. The other pack members watched nervously, shifting from paw to paw, edging closer to us, and then backing away as if in confusion. I looked at Esme, but she shook her head, evidently as confused as I was.

We all watched in bewilderment as the two of them fought it out. It was a war that waged forever, Sam and Jacob, alpha verses 'beta', friend verses foe. For long moments it seemed as if Sam were winning, having Jacob on the run. But Jake was too smart and it didn't take long for the tides to turn.

This made Bella very anxious and wild. She kept trying to escape from our grip, trying to run away from the danger, but we wouldn't let her. None of us could go anywhere with the wolves still surrounding us. They may not be attacking now, but if any of us made too much of a move, they'd have us pinned down in an instant. I had to let go of Alice to help restrain Bella as the most puzzling fight played itself out.

After what seems like hours, it winds down. Both of their muzzles are stained with each other's blood and the smell of it sickens us all. Sam is clearly the more wounded, and as him and Jacob circle each other, Sam has to expend great force to keep it up. There are large chucks of flesh that have been ripped off, and his back leg is clearly shattered. The red liquid stains and mats his coat to the point that its original color can't be recognized, while Jake's natural russet color stands out clearly. Drops of blood fell from Sam as quickly and as often as the raindrops fell from the sky, littering the ground below.

As they circle, it's obvious that they're conversing with each other, but we are all oblivious to what they're talking about. Alice took her spot beside me, calmer than before, but curious as to what was happening. Esme stood behind Bella, stroking her wet, and tangled hair absentmindedly as she paid more attention to the two warring Quileutes. Emmett kept his arm around Bella, and watched solemnly. There was a glimmer in his eye that told me that he knew something of what was unfolding, but I didn't dare ask him. Rosalie watched quietly as well, her delicate jaw set.

What happened next shocked us all. Sam and Jacob stopped their circling, and Sam basically drug himself next to Jacob, where he clumsily kneeled, and finally collapsed at Jacob's paws, whines of pain escaping his mouth. Slowly the rest of the pack followed suit, some more grudgingly than others, and in an apparent show of respect and acceptance, they sat down with their heads bowed in Jake's direction.

"Ohh…" Alice said as she realized what just happened. My eyes widened when I realized it as well. This wasn't just any fight. This had been a fight for supremacy. A fight for Jake's rightful place as alpha. I was highly doubtful that any of the other pack members could have done that, but as the rightful chief of the tribe, it was Jake's right to be alpha.

Jake limped over to us slowly, panting in exhaustion with every step. Some of the wolves growled as he passed, unhappy with what just happened, but they did all the same. Just as before, Jake phased before our eyes, not even looking down in embarrassment at his bareness. Several gashes run across his chest and numerous other injuries cover his body, but he doesn't appear to notice them. All he was looking at was Bella.

Bella began her futile struggle once again, trying desperately to get away. As such a new neophyte, her instincts are hard to control, and they were telling her to get away. They were telling her to get away fast.

"Bella," Jake said sadly. Bella didn't look at him, but only closed her eyes and tugged against mine and Emmett's hold on her. "Please look at me," he said. I could feel his pain as he watched her. I could feel the torment he was going through. I gasped and closed my eyes as his emotions, so strong and overwhelming, hit me. Alice placed a comforting hand upon my chest, and I smiled reassuringly to let her know that I was fine.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Bells, I promise. I just want you to look at me. Please."

I don't know how or why, but when us Cullens had tried to calm her, she would not be calmed. But with Jake standing there, not five feet away, his soothing words echoing in her ears, she stopped. She stared at the ground for a moment, her eyes blinking rapidly, her jaw clenching and unclenching. But finally, she took a deep breath and looked up at Jake. Her bright red eyes met his, and tears welled up in his deep brown eyes. I nearly fell over when his emotions hit me.

"Bella," he whispered sadly. "I'm so sorry," he said.

Bella slowly sank to her knees, and took her head in her hands and sobbed. Quietly, almost inaudible, I heard her say, "I'm sorry this ever happened."


	20. Still In Love

**(A/N: So I had a lot of questions as to where Edward was. And I don't get a chance to actually answer that question until later, so I'll tell you now. It would be kind of weird for a 'corpse' to all of a sudden jump up and run away. So Carlisle and Edward had to stay back at the beach to keep up the charade while the others left the beach, saying that they were too grief stricken. And so Edward comes in this chapter because Carlisle picks up his son's dead body, telling the others that he needs to take Edward home to have a few last moments before they cremate him, so they get in the car and on their way. So that's why Edward didn't get to come immeadiately. Don't panic. Yet… Mwahaha! But to make it clearer, I went back and added a little bit about where Edward was in the last chapter.)**

**Chapter Twenty  
Still In Love**

**Bella's POV**

"Bella," Jake whispered sadly as he met my eyes. "I'm so sorry."

With those three little words, my entire world was ripped apart. I sank to my knees, grief welling up in my entire being. I was sorry too. I was sorry for everything. Sorry for hurting Charlie. Sorry for losing control. Sorry for causing Sam to be nearly killed. And most of all, I was sorry that this whole thing ever happened. I began to sob uncontrollably, my head clutched in my quivering hands.

"I'm sorry this ever happened," I said so quietly that my words could have been mistaken as a whisper of the wind or the dripping of the rain. But no, everyone heard me. Esme came over to me and cradled me in her arms, shushing me as she stroked my hair in a comforting manner. She didn't try to tell me that I was wrong, that I shouldn't be sorry. She didn't try to make it all better by saying that it wasn't my fault. She did the best thing a mother could ever do. She just held me and she just loved me all the same.

"Go home," I heard Jake say to the pack. A few of them growled, but they obeyed all the same. I looked up for a moment to see all the wolves disappear through the rain and trees. All except for Jake.

"Please look at me," he said after I turned my head away from him, too ashamed for him to see me. I was filthy and still bloody from the hunt. The entire front of my shirt was crimson, but amazingly, I stayed in control. Just the thoughts of feeding made me sick. Rain ran down my cold skin, but it would not wash away the stains on my clothes or the stain I now had on my heart. I wrapped my arms around me and looked down at the ground, sobs once again wracking my body.

"Go away!" I rasped out, hitting my fist upon the soft earth, causing a large dent in the soil.

"No, Bella. I'm not going away. At least not yet. We need to talk." He walked closer to me until he was close enough that his sent nearly made me gag. "You don't smell so hot, yourself," he added when he saw this.

I looked up and glared at him. "Why did you do that, back there? Huh? Why didn't you let them kill me? I remember you telling me not too long ago that you'd rather me be dead and that you'd kill me if I broke the treaty! Well guess what? There's a human dead because of me and I'm still here!" I'd risen to my feet by that time and I snarled at him, anger coursing through every part of my body. "Why am I still here!?"

"Just listen to me, please. I'm sorry about all of this just as much as you are. Do you know that ever since Victoria bit you, I've been beating myself up over it? I've been blaming myself more than anyone here because maybe, just maybe, if I'd stayed with you and Edward during the fight, then you wouldn't be the way you are and we wouldn't be here right now. If I'd stayed with you, then none of this would have ever happened."

"Oh really? I recall at some point you blaming my bloodsucker boyfriend for not being able to protect me. So don't give me this crap, Jake, because I'm sick and tired of all of it!" I turned on my heels and walked away from him, in between Esme and Emmett. When Jake grabbed my arm, the heat of his touch against my icy skin causing me to flinch with pain, I turned and punched him in the face just like I had so long ago. But this time it wasn't me that had the broken bones.

Jake flew backwards, hitting a tree with a deafening smack. Blood instantly began to ooze from his crooked nose, but he didn't shake with his anger and he didn't have to force himself to stay in control. He just wiped away the blood, slowly rose from the ground, using the tree as support, and walked back towards me.

"I suppose I deserved that," he said calmly as he looked at me. "But it's true. And I'm infinitely sorry that I said you should have died. I didn't mean it. I was just so mad at myself, that I was taking it out on everyone around me. I didn't mean a word of it. I just hope that you'll forgive me. And if you don't, then I'll understand. But I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry that all this has happened to you. Will you forgive me, Bella?"

My jaw slightly dropped. He should be furious with me after I just hit him like that. He should be quivering and fighting to stay in control. But he wasn't! He just stared pathetically into my eyes, and the worst part was, that when I looked back at him, I could tell that he was sincere. I could tell that he meant every word that he just said. I bit my lip as I looked at him, and finally sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, Jake," I said, throwing my hands up in the air, all of my previous anger ebbing away.

"So what now," Emmett asked from beside us. "The treaty's broken. Are you just getting all of this off your chest so you can go ahead and kill us all with a clean conscience?"

"Emmett," I yelled, shocked that he'd say that.

Jacob begins quivering with anger, his skin rippling as his body came close to phasing. But he remained himself. "There is no treaty anymore. I just fought Sam and nearly killed him so I could take my rightful place as the Alpha. And as such, Bella will not be harmed."

"And what of us?" Esme said as she stepped forward.

"Nothing will happen to you. Now anyway. I believe you when you say that you don't … feed… from humans. But if any of you do, some action will have to be taken. And as for this incident, I will let this one go. But you must teach her to control herself or I will be forced to do something."

"Why are you doing this?" Rosalie asked, shock apparent in her face.

Jacob grinned at her and then turned back to me, and smiled. "Well, she may be a bloodsucker now, but this is still Bella, and if I remember correctly, I'm still in love with her."


	21. Unrequited Love

**(A/N: So, don't start freaking out. I promise you, this isn't a story where vamp Bella and Jake get hooked up because you know, that just doesn't work with me. So if you were under the impression that I was going to have Bella leave Edward, don't worry. Jake is well aware that nothing can come of his love for her. It's more of a, 'I still care' kind of love. Not the 'be with me, not Edward' kind of love. Big difference.)**

**(A/N: CHANGE OF PLANS! This chapter, in the summaries, I thought was a good length. But once I got writing on it, I realized that it was way too long and if I wrote all that I had originally planned, it would probably end up being 12 pages long on Word. So now I'll have -34- chapters and an epilogue. So this chapter and the next chapter were originally meant to be one. :) )**

**Chapter Twenty-One  
Unrequited Love**

Jacob grinned at Rosalie and then turned back to me, and smiled. "Well, she may be a bloodsucker now, but this is still Bella, and if I remember correctly, I'm still in love with her."

"Oh, Jake," I grumbled, not able to believe that even now he wasn't going to let me go. It wasn't enough for him that I was _completely_ out of his reach now. It didn't matter to him that he was defying the laws of nature by saying that and by doing what he just did. He was supposed to hate me by nature! He's supposed to protect the humans, not let their killer walk away unscathed. Not that I was complaining, of course, but still! He was just making things worse for me! Way worse than a person's life should ever be. I'd just taken away someone's life and here he was telling me this!

"Jake, you don't mean that," I said slowly, looking down at his bare feet. I didn't want to see the hurt in his eyes that I knew was sure to come.

"No, Bella, I do. I still care about you. It's my fault that you're like this and I'm not going to turn my back on you now."

"Don't you understand, Jake?" I asked pleadingly, desperation dripping from my words. I took a step forward, and went to grab his hand, but I pulled away beforehand, knowing that it would burn. "Nothing can come of this. I- I just don't have any of those feelings for you anymore. I don't know, and I can't entirely explain it, but there's a lot of stuff about my old life that I don't remember. And most of my memories involving you are gone. I'm really sorry, Jake, but I just need you to see that I can't love you back anymore. And you have no idea how bad I feel for that, because I know that we used to have something, but that's just not there anymore."

"Bella," Emmett whispered as he came to stand beside me. "Watch what you're saying," he said lowly, his eyes locked with Jake's. I knew what Emmett was thinking. If I told Jake this, and made him mad, he'd go back on his word and have us killed. But I didn't think that Jake would do that. Not after telling me that he still loved me.

"No, Emmett," I replied, gently pushing him away. "It needed to be said." Emmett looked wary, but obediently moved back a few paces.

"Jacob, I want you to know that I really appreciate what you did for me, for all of us. I know how hard it must have been to do that to Sam, and I'm in your debt for that. If you hadn't have come when you did, I probably would be dead right now. So thank you."

He stiffly nodded, his brows furrowed and jaw tense. It was plain to see that I'd really hurt him, and I knew that I couldn't say something like that without doing some damage, but I didn't see any way around it.

"Jake, I'm really sorry if I hurt you, because I-"

"No, it's fine. I should have known better. After all, we should be natural enemies now. I wasn't really expecting much back, anyway. But is a friendship still possible?"

"Of course, Jake. You may smell really, really bad, but that's not going to stop me from being your friend. It may not be the same level that we once had, but we can work something out." I smiled at him, and his face lit up at my words.

"Thanks, Bella. That means a lot to me. Knowing that you don't hate me makes me feel a little bit better." I nodded and felt Esme's arms wrap around me. I looked over at her to see her face beaming with approval at how I'd handled this.

"Bella!" Someone shouted from behind me, and I heard the sound of footsteps fast approaching. It didn't take long for me to see my beloved through the trees, followed by Carlisle, making their way to us.

Soon the two of them came into plain view and they stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of me. Edward looked at my bloodied clothes, my wet and tangled hair, before meeting my eyes. He looked vehemently over at Jasper, and then at Emmett, but he didn't say anything to them. Carlisle only looked at me with loving sympathy. Edward slowly walked over to me, as if he was unsure about how to act in my presence, but he finally came to me and brushed a strand of matted hair away from my face. He cupped my head in his hands and sighed, looking at everything but my eyes.

"I shouldn't have left you," he whispered as he examined my disheveled appearance from head to toe.

I grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands away from my face, shaking my head. "Not now," I said, not entirely prepared to face what exactly it was that I'd done. "Not now…"

He nodded and then turned his attention to Carlisle, who was speaking with Jake.

"We are very grateful for what you did for us, Jake," he said. I supposed that Carlisle had found out what happened from Edward hearing everyone's thoughts and then getting the messages relayed to him.

Carlisle glanced back at me before continuing. "But I hope you understand that we should probably get Bella home soon. What just happened is… its pretty taxing."

Jake nodded solemnly as he locked eyes with mine. I could see the mixture of emotions swirling in his chocolate orbs: disappointment, sadness, guilt, pain, confusion. But in that mass, I could see that he still held a glimmer of hope. A hope that said that maybe I won't turn out like the rest of my kind. That I won't let my nature take over and that I won't hate him. I smiled back at him, to reassure him that I wasn't going to hate him.

"Come on," Edward whispered in my ear as we turned around to leave. Before I had a chance to take a step, though, I felt Edward's strong arms encircle me and soon I was being cradled in his arms.

"You don't have to carry me," I mumbled, laying my head against his chest, which was already wet from the rain that was coming down.

"I don't care, Bella. There's already been one mistake today and I don't plan on having you make another one any time soon," he said coldly as we began to walk away. I closed my eyes for a moment, scared at the rage Edward was hiding. I could tell that he was furious at Emmett and Jasper and that what just happened was something big. Something very big. And Edward wasn't going to just let it go.

"Before you go, I need to say that if this happens again, my duty as a protector will be much strong than my duty as a friend and I'll have no choice but to act," Jake said as we were leaving.

"We understand. And it won't happen again. I _promise_," Edward said as he continued walking, not even pausing to look back and acknowledge Jake, who was standing there in the pouring rain watching us walk away.

"Take care of the body," Edward said to Emmett as we were heading deeper into the woods. "See if you're able to, find out who he i- who he was." The two of them nodded and silently ran off in the direction of… it. I didn't dare open my mouth, afraid that Edward's anger would be released upon me. So I just settled on being completely still as we all ran quickly and quietly back to the house. Alice and Carlisle went back to get their vehicles, while the rest of us went on our way in silence.

When we arrived, no one said anything as Edward took me upstairs. Rosalie looked upon me with sadness, Jasper with empathy and understanding, and Esme tried to smile reassuringly towards me. I felt a calm slip over me like a blanket and I gladly accepted it, letting it wrap around me completely until I was devoid of any other emotion. Edward, however, still looked highly angry. He took me upstairs and into Alice's bathroom, where he gently sat me down on her counter.

"Don't move," he said as he walked over to the Jacuzzi tub and turned the water on. He sat at the edge of the tub, staring absentmindedly into the rising water, occasionally trailing his hands across the surface. I watched him as I sat stone still. I could still smell the scent of human blood all around me, wafting through the air, but for some reason it wasn't bothering me very much. Either because I'd just killed someone and had had my fill, or it was because I was too terrified to let it get control of me. Whatever the reason, I continued breathing and ignored the feelings it aroused in me.

Even after the tub was filled up, Edward sat there staring in the now calm waters as if they held some magical answers to all of our problems. Finally, he stirred and rose from his perch to come to me. "Let's get you in there," he said as he came over to me, his face completely blank. His black eyes didn't even give me a hint of what he was thinking.

"Do you want me to leave or stay?" he said sullenly, as he finally met my eyes.

"Stay… please," I murmured. "Don't leave me alone," I said as I hopped of the counter. He nodded and turned his back to me while I pulled off the wet and bloodied clothes I'd borrowed from Rose. I put them in a pile at the furthest corner of the room, but before I stepped into the soothing waters, I took a towel and threw over the mess. I slid into the water and was horrified that the water turned red almost immediately. I didn't think I was violent enough to splatter that much blood, but I was apparently wrong. Very wrong.

I gasped in sheer horror. How could I have done this? It was just so easy to lose myself! And the worst part about it all was that part of me, a very dominant part of me wanted to do it again, and again. I hated myself for that, I really did. But there was nothing I could do to take away those feelings. There was nothing I could do to undo what just happened.

I looked pleadingly over at Edward, who stared at the closed door, his shoulders drooping and head hung down. "How do you live with yourself?" I asked, my voice cracking with all of the emotions that were wanting to come out. "What do you do after something like this?"

He shook his head, but still did not look over at me. "You don't really learn to live with it. We live the way we do because we have the horrors of what we've done hanging over us, or the knowledge of what we're capable of trailing behind. It never goes away."

I let my head fall back against the tub as anguish overtook me. "I can't do this, Edward… I can't do this…"

He sighed sadly and came over to me, and sat down on the edge of the tub, still keeping his eyes on the door for my sake. "You have no idea how sorry I am. I would have given anything for this to have not happened. But it did and you'll have to learn from it. Use this as a lesson of the future. Use it to remind yourself of what could happen if you let yourself slip, just once."

"But that's just it! It terrifies me because I want it to happen again! I shouldn't want that, but I do. And I don't want to think that! I don't want to be a monster! I don't want to be a cold blooded killer who enjoys what they do. It isn't right Edward, it just isn't right!"

"Shh," he said, finally turning around to look me in the eye. He gently rubbed my hair and smiled sadly at me. "It's only because you're still so new. I promise you that you won't feel like that all the time. It fades eventually. Not completely, because you know how close I came to killing you that first day in biology. But when you're able to, just remember what happened." I nodded, looking away in slight embarrassment at the situation we were in.

"Do you want me to turn back around?" he asked. I nodded and he obliged, going back to sitting on the counter looking at the door.

"Just remember that no matter what has happened or will happen that I will always love you."


	22. Civil War

**(A/N: I am warning you now. I cannot do extreme anger and fight scenes well. I don't know why, but it sounds really bad when I try to write it. So my apologies for its awfulness. And you guys will probably be mad once again for what goes on in this chapter, but it's very much realistic. Think about it, Edward is very protective over Bella, and Bella is so distraught and was nearly killed, so of course he's going to be EXTREMELY angry with Emmett and Jasper. There's no way on earth that something like that could happen and Edward would just let it go. Do you not remember the Port Angeles incident in Twilight? –nods in triumph- You know I'm right. :P )**

**Chapter Twenty-Two  
Civil War**

The tub had to be drained and filled back up three times before I was completely satisfied that all the blood was washed away, but I still felt it dripping all over me. Edward handed me a towel, which I gladly took and wrapped about me, when I got out of the Jacuzzi. "Thank you," I murmured as I ran my fingers through my hair, detangling it as best I could.

"Alice, could you go and get Bella some clothes, please," Edward said, knowing that Alice would hear. He motioned for me to come and sit beside him on the bathroom counter, his eyes infinitely sad. I could tell that he was still immensely angry, but not with me; he was mad with Jasper and Emmett. He was still very stiff and tense, but trying his best to stay calm and comforting for my sake. He reminded me way too much of the time in Port Angeles when those men were stalking me.

"It's not their fault," I said quietly as I hopped up on the counter beside him, holding my towel up carefully with my hands. "We all wanted to w-"

"I don't want to talk about them right now, Love." Edward said too quickly, a harshness at the edge of his voice. He looked away from me, but I could see how his features had become cold and malevolent.

I nodded and looked down at my feet. "How did it go at the beach?" I asked as a change of pace. "Did everything work out?"

He nodded. "They all watched me die after I basically told them that you fell and hit the rocks, which killed you." I nodded as I played with the edge of the towel.

The both of us looked up when Alice knocked on the door. She let herself in and I could tell that she was deeply affected by what just transpired. All of her happiness and energy and bright eyed optimism was gone, replaced by sadness and regretful understanding. She held out a set of clothes to me, clothes I remembered seeing in Rose's closet earlier. Alice told Edward to look away, which he did, and she helped me to get dressed. For once she didn't try and dress me up and make me look cute. It was just a simple shirt and jeans, for which I was grateful.

"How are you doing?" She asked as she began putting my wet hair into a ponytail.

I scoffed. "Never better." And oddly enough, though it was meant as sarcasm, it was partly true. I felt a whole lot stronger and more complete than before. I remembered someone saying that the normal vampires who feed off of humans are much stronger because animals don't provide as much sustenance. I could verify that it was true now.

When Alice finished, she rubbed my shoulder before leaving, saying that she loved me too and that I was the best sister she could ever ask for.

"She means it you know," Edward said as he leaned against the wall. "We all mean it."

I nodded, knowing perfectly well that it was the truth.

"Come on," he said, taking my hand and leading us out of Alice's bathroom and into our bedroom. It was so hard to believe that just this morning everything was fine. Just this morning… A lot had changed in just a few hours. I sat down on the couch and lay my head back upon the wall, closing my eyes. How was it possible for things to tailspin out of control as fast as they had? I shuddered to think of what would happen if things got any worse.

Edward came and sat down beside me, pulling me over to him so that I was lying against his chest. It was utterly quiet in the house except for the sound of the rain falling against the window. I wasn't sure if the others had left, but I hadn't heard the door open ever since Alice and Carlisle got back with their cars.

"What's everyone doing?" I asked.

"Carlisle is in his study with Esme. Alice is cleaning up in the bathroom. Rosalie is in her room thinking about things. The other two are in the living room."

"Don't be mad at them, please," I said as I rose up to look Edward in the eyes.

"Let's talk about something else," he said as he averted his eyes, tension once again rising within him.

"No, Edward. It wasn't their fault. I'm the one who killed that man, not them."

Edward shook his head and pulled me back down onto his lap, picking up on running his fingers through my hair. Soon the sound of my lullaby filled my ears and I knew that there was no use in talking about Emmett and Jasper right now.

We remained that way for half an hour until I heard Edward growl quietly. I looked up at him in question, but that question was answered when I heard a conversation from downstairs.

"Come on, Emmett," Jasper mumbled. "He's not getting any happier and we need to talk about this."

"I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to be killed. I've already had a close call once already today."

"Emmett, Edward needs to hear our apology."

"I'm sure he's heard our apologies in our thoughts and if he's still pissed, then I don't think it's going to get any better any time soon."

And that was what set him off. A feral snarl rose from his throat and he roughly picked me up and unceremoniously put me back down on the couch. He was out the door before I even met the cushion.

"Edward!" I screamed, taking off after him. But it was too late. By the time I caught up with him, the screaming had begun.

"What do you think apologizing is going to do?" Edward roared as he barreled into the living room, me nipping at his heels. "It still happened, and no matter how many times you say you're sorry, you can't change it!"

"Please, stop this!" I begged as Emmett jumped up from his spot on the couch, automatically taking an aggressive stance to match Edward's. But none of them listened to me.

Edward lunged at the larger vampire, causing Emmett to stumble backwards. The deafening sound of their punches reverberated throughout the house, causing my ears to hurt from the noise. Jasper tried to pull Edward off, tried to calm him, but it didn't work. Jasper, instead, ended up having to defend himself as well from his brother's fury.

"Edward!" Esme screamed when she came down the stairs in a flurry, panic in her eyes. "Emmett, Jasper!"

Alice, however, reacted with more than words. I saw a blur move in my peripheral vision and before I knew it, Alice was in the middle of it all, trying her best to pull them apart.

"Get them apart, now," Carlisle shouted authoritatively when he came down, trying to help Alice separate them. "Bella, come help me," Carlisle snarled when he looked over at where I stood frozen in horror at what was happening. "Now!"

I snapped to attention after that and went to their aid, grabbing Edward's flailing arm as he tried his best to dismember any part of Emmett or Jasper that he could get a hold of. "Stop this, Edward! You don't want to do this," I screamed frantically, tugging with all of my might. Luckily, my newborn strength was enough, because after a few tugs, I was able to pull him away. Once we'd freed him, I grabbed his shoulders, Carlisle his legs, and we hauled him outside into the pouring rain, where Carlisle let Edward fall to the ground, leaving me trying to get him back upright.

"What was that?" Carlisle asked, a reserved anger bubbling inside him. Carlisle may not have showed it completely, but I could tell that he was angry. His calm words and tense actions didn't fool me, or any of us for that matter. His calm demeanor, if anything, was more threatening and frightening than shouting.

"They should have waited!" he bellowed, turning to point accusingly at Emmett and Jasper, who'd come out onto the porch to watch with the rest of the family.

"But I couldn't wait! It wasn't their fault, Edward!" I said desperately as I grabbed one of his arms. He didn't even look at me.

"And you even let her get close to town! Were you not thinking?"

"It's the same place we took her the first time she hunted, so don't blame us for it!" Emmett howled with rage, taking a step off the porch, but Rosalie pulled him back before he could get too close.

"That was not the same place," he retorted furiously. "How could she pick up a human scent if she wasn't closer to town? She didn't kill a human when I took her the first time!"

"When _we_ took her," Jasper corrected. "How were we supposed to know that a hitchhiker would be walking down the road? Huh, Edward? Alice didn't see that happening because that guy hadn't decided to going walking towards his death at the time we asked her!"

"It was just an accident, man! Why are you getting so worked up over this? You've killed your fair share of humans, and you don't see us trying to kill you!"

Edward took off towards Emmett again, his teeth bared and his hand ready to rip off whatever he got a hold of. I quickly grabbed him around the waist before I got too far, and using my strength, I managed to restrain him. Carlisle quickly came over to my aid, pinning Edward's arms behind his back.

"Stop this, please!" I begged as I forced Edward to look at me. "You're right! It happened, and there's nothing we can do to change that. So is killing your own brothers worth trying to fix a problem that will never go away? I'm the one who killed that human, so stop blaming them!"

He held my eyes for a moment, his irises resembling total darkness. Everyone seemed to hold their breath until Edward dropped his head and sighed.

"Thank you," I murmured, stroking his cheek. "It just wasn't worth it…"

"Whatever I ripped off would've reattached itself, you know," he said under his breath, glancing up evilly at Jasper and Emmett before returning his gaze to me.

"That's not the point, Edward. The point is is that you're being irrational here. There's more important things to think about than who's to blame for _my_ mistake."

"She's right. What we need to focus on now is what we're going to do with the Volturi when they arrive. Alice, when do you see them arriving?"

Alice's face went blank as she lost herself in the future, her eyes glazed and distant. I realized that it wasn't good when I felt Edward tense beside me.

"They're on their way now," the two of them said together.

**(A/N: I just wanted to take a little time to thank all of my lufferly reviewers. Every time you guys give me a review, you make me a little bit more conceited. :P But seriously, I really hope that I'm able to keep your attention all throughout the story. And I'd like to address a review from camillebananapeel. She writes:****"I'm really liking this story. It's not like a lot of other post-eclipse stories I've been reading lately. I'm getting sick of the happy perfect outcome with the change being like "ow that hurt, oh well" and "eww nasty blood that doesn't smell good I'll just have some orange juice." This is really well written! I'm looking forward to more chapters!"**

I completely agree with this review. I partly wrote this story because I was so tired of things being so simple. Yeah, this story will come out with a happy ending of sorts, but it's going to take a lot of work for everyone to get there. There's going to a whole lot of pain, a whole lot of anger, and a whole lot of fighting, but they'll get there eventually. So thanks Camillebananapeel and so many others who are reviewing. I've been kind of lazy with my review replies, but I'm going to try and pick that back up because you guys really deserve some love because you all are awesome!)


	23. Jane's Epiphany

**(A/N: Oooh! Drama! :D Don't you just love it?)**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Jane's Epiphany**

"They're on their way? Now?" I said incredulously. "Could things get any worse?" I let go of Edward and fell down to my knees in despair. I had given the Volturi the one thing they needed to take me away from the Cullens. I'd given them one dead human and with that single mistake, they could take me away for eternity.

"Bella, look at me," Edward said urgently as he picked me up and put be back on my feet. "I need you to listen, okay?" I nodded. "We need you to act like nothing is wrong. Pretend like nothing happened, all right? Don't act like you have a power or anything. Don't act like you just killed a human. Just be calm. Can you do that for us?" I nodded as we all rushed inside.

We all changed out of our wet clothes as quickly as we could, trying to remove all traces of suspicion. I tried my best to not think about anything as I got dressed, but all of the pent up emotions and panic was starting to consume me to the point where I thought it would all explode out of me. After I finished getting ready, Edward and I went back downstairs to discover that the others were already done. Esme had begun cleaning up from the brawl, straightening things as best she could. Carlisle came over to me and added onto Edward's words from earlier. "Bella, do not, under any circumstances look Jane in the eye. You know she'll try her power on you. She always does. That way they won't figure out that you have a power. Okay?"

"I understand," I replied.

Carlisle nodded before walking upstairs momentarily.

"Bella, stop being so jittery," Alice said when she came over to me. "They'll know something is up if you keep bouncing like you are." She led me over the couch and turned the TV on for me. "Watch this. It's boring enough to put anyone to sleep. Even us on occasion." She winked at me, but I could tell that she was still very tense. Edward sat beside me, and we stared at the screen for a while, but neither of us ever really paid any real attention to it. I was vaguely aware that it was one of the local news channels, but as always, it lacked excitement. After all, we were still in Forks.

"Five minutes until they get here," Alice said from somewhere in the house a few minutes after she'd left us.

I cringed inside. I knew that I told everyone I could stay calm; that I could let on like everything was fine, but I was so torn up inside that I felt like the entire world was spinning out of control. It felt as if I had the weight of the world on my shoulders and I was slowly losing the strength to hold it all up. My foot kept twitching nervously and I couldn't stop playing with the hem of my shirt. Edward kept looking at me worriedly, but didn't say anything. Maybe if we could all get through this without any problems, everything would be fine. Maybe then we wouldn't have to worry about the Volturi for a while and we could move on with our lives.

"Four minutes."

"How are you staying so calm?" I asked Edward eventually, perturbed and a little annoyed at his utter calm.

"I'm as torn up as you right now, Bella. But I can just hide it better. Please, don't dwell on things. It doesn't help."

"I'm trying not to think about things, I really am, but I'm finding it really hard at the moment. I've just killed someone, the Volturi are going to use that against you guys and take me away, and not to mention that after killing that man, I'm just a little bit crazy right now."

I slapped Edward when he chuckled, and glared at him when he continued to grin.

"I'm sorry," I said as he tried to look solemn once more. "It was just kind of funny."

"Was not!"

"Three minutes."

The rest of the family filed into the living room, their faces grave and somber. "Jasper, I'd really appreciate your power right about now," I told him when he walked past Edward and I. He didn't look at Edward, but smiled at me. It didn't take long for my nervousness to die down, thankfully.

"I think we could all use a bit of calm right about now," Esme added.

"We're going to need all the help we can get if we're going to make it through this fiasco," Rosalie said coldly, holding Emmett's arm and leaning upon his strong shoulder. She glanced over at me and I could see the resentment she once again held towards me in that one look. I was hoping that things with Rosalie had been resolved, but I suppose it had been a shaky and tentative resolution at best, and now we were back to square one. Rose was mad because Edward attacked Emmett and she was furious because I had put the whole family in danger. She couldn't understand what I was going through, because in her utter and faultless perfection, she couldn't relate to what I was feeling because she had never made a mistake like I had. I quickly diverted me eyes and felt like crying. Rose hated me, Edward hated Emmett and Jasper, I could tell Esme's and Carlisle's patience was wearing thing, and who knew about Alice and Jasper.

"Two minutes," Alice announced as she went over to look through the window. "They'll be coming from the driveway."

"Be strong, Bella," Edward whispered into my ear. "I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"Do you see anything going wrong when they get here?" I asked as I went to stand beside the only other person in the whole house that I still felt comfortable with.

Alice sighed and put her hand on my shoulder. "I'm not entirely sure. So far I see everything going well. But you know how everything is based on the decisions made. It's not definite, but as of now, I see it going smoothly." I nodded, satisfied with that.

My eyes drifted over to Edward, who was leaning against the window, looking out into the rainy yard. He looked so… focused, and so angry at the same time. His brows were furrowed and it seemed as if his hair was in a bit more disarray than usual. Every now and then his black eyes would dart to one of the family members, probably because of something they were thinking, but not once did he look in my direction. I wasn't sure if he was avoiding me or if he was too caught up in his brooding to pay much attention.

"One more minute."

"Edward," I said tentatively when I went back over to him. It seemed as if he took me into his arms automatically, as if he didn't really care. "Edward, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"You don't look fine."

"Well, let's talk about it later. Now's not the time."

I dropped it, knowing he was right, and knowing also that he wouldn't have told me in the company of his family anyway.

"There they are," Jasper said quietly. And he was right. When I looked towards the window, I could see them coming clearly. Alex, Jane, Demetri, and the other guard. Their black and gray cloaks were billowing out behind them as they came, taking their time. The rain was hitting them, soaking them, but they didn't seem to be moved. All of their eyes were set on the house, set on us looking at them through the window. Jane smiled at me, but I made sure not look anywhere near her dangerous ruby eyes.

As they neared the house, I realized that the TV was still on, and found the remote and quickly pushed whatever button I could find. I was relieved when the TV muted. A knock sounded on the door as soon as I put the remote back down. Carlisle took a seat in the chair that Alice envisioned him sitting in and Esme went to the door.

"Jane, Alex, Dmetri, how nice to see you again. I'm afraid I don't know your name," she announced the unfamiliar guard.

"Michaelis."

"And Michaelis. Please come in, all of you. Allow me to take your cloaks."

"We'll keep them on, if you don't mind. We wouldn't want to get too informal, would we?" Jane smiled at Esme as she walked in. She pranced into the living room and gracefully glided down onto the couch, her eyes roving over everyone of us as if we were specimens to be looked at. She glanced briefly at the TV, a frown on her face. I cursed myself, wishing that I had turned it off instead of muting it. The other three guards did not take seats, but stood with their arms crossed at the other end of the room away from us Cullens.

"To what do we owe this visit, Jane?" Carlisle said courteously, yet one eyebrow was raised in obvious question.

"Well, I did say that we'd back soon, didn't I? I can't believe you've forgotten already, Carlisle. I've told Aro about Bella joining our society, and he's thrilled." Jane shot me an endearing glance. I clung closer to Edward, who wrapped his arms protectively around me. When Alice had had this vision, I had felt like running when I saw her do that. I actually did run after I saw it. But I was prepared now. I knew what this witch was playing at, and so I stayed put calmly and smiled.

"And why is he thrilled?" Carlisle asked, obviously suspicious as well.

"Well, he was partially afraid that your dear Edward would put it off and put it off, and that the vision your psychic had was untrue. He is intent on Bella becoming one of us, as you know."

"Yes, yes," Carlisle replied nonchalantly, nodding as he did so. "I'm not sure Edward's willing to let her go just yet, though," he added, a false, joking smile plastered on his lips.

"Hmm. Well, in any case, does our dear Bella have a power? We're just itching to know."

"If she does, it hasn't revealed itself yet."

Jane shrugged. "It's such a pity. We all had such high hopes for her. She was so… unique as a human. Wasn't she Edward? I bet it's a change to have her just like you now. You probably miss the clumsy thing."

"Some things are different, but I don't love her any less." I looked up at Edward and smiled, flattered with what he said.

"How sweet," Felix sneered. I frowned at the black cloaked Volturi guard and looked away.

"Well, what are you planning on doing now that she's been changed? Any plans in particular?"

"We have a few loose ends to tie up here in Forks, and then we're heading up to Alaska. We've stayed here longer than we should have."

"Loose ends?" Demetri asked politely. "What sort of loose ends?"

I looked over at Carlisle and saw him frown a bit. He didn't want to tell them, that was clear. But he drew in a deep breath and continued on. "Well, due to the way things have turned out here, we've had to put on a big show about Bella and Edward dying. We've got to tend to the funerals, sicne we couldn't very well up and leave without going to our own son's funeral. That would look suspicious to too many people. After we get that taken care of, we'll pack up what we need and move on."

"Oh, I do love a good funeral every now and then!" Jane said excitedly, a wide smile across her face.

Carlisle shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid this will probably be a closed funeral. Charlie, Bella's father, will probably want only close friends and family. I doubt you'll be able to get in." _Good job, Carlisle,_ I thought, pleased with his lie. Anything to keep the Volturi away from the funerals would work for me.

"Oh, you know us better than that. We're the Volturi, Carlisle. Do you think a human is going to stop us from attending your dear Edward's funeral? And Bella's as well? No. We'll be there. You can count on that."

Carlisle smiles weakly and nods while I shout curses at Jane in my head. "I suppose you're right. You tend to get what you want, don't you?"

"Yes. It's one of the perks of being part of the Volturi, I suppose, and getting to live in Volterra. Speaking of which," Jane said. She turned her attention to me and I made a point to stare at her chin. "You should really come and visit with us, Bella. Aro is just dying to see you again. He's become… a bit obsessed with you, I would say. It would make him so happy if you could come and see him. It's really pretty this time of year anyway. It could be a vacation of sorts."

It took a moment for me to find the words because I was so terrified. But I felt Jasper's power, which had kept me calm so far, tighten its grip on me. I smiled and coolly replied, "I would love to Jane. But perhaps another time, when I am, uh, more equipped to travel, if you get my meaning." Carlisle looked at me and gave me a covert nod of approval.

Jane opened her mouth to say something but closed it when her eyes darted to the muted TV. "What's this…" she murmured playfully.

I looked over at the screen to see what she had spotted and nearly fell over in panic when I realized what she was seeing. There was a breaking news bulletin on the news channel, and a man was standing under an umbrella on the side of the road. He was standing where I'd attacked that man.

"Bella, why didn't you turn the TV off? It's rude to have it on with guests in the house," Esme said like a scolding mother would as she went over to get the remote. But Jane had already beaten her to it.

"No, it's fine. I'm just curious as to what these humans have to say." Jane unmated it, and when she did so, I contemplated bolting out of there, right through the window if I had too. But I didn't.

"…in. The body was found here, just outside of Forks. The body has yet to be identified. It's a red haired Caucasian male, but age is undeterminable. It is believed that a wild animal killed him because his neck was broken and part of his throat removed. Police believe that the body had been moved since it was void of blood and there was none at scene, suggesting he was killed elsewhere. If anyone knows the identity of this man, or has any information, please contact Forks City Police."

"Well, isn't that interesting?" Jane said with a grin.

"It definitely doesn't sound like an animal attack to me," Felix added, moving closer to Jane.

"No, definitely not."

"Did you know anything about this, Carlisle? I would think that you would know of any other vampires being in your area."

No one said anything. I looked frantically over to Carlisle, who didn't acknowledge me. Neither did Esme and definitely not Rosalie. Edward squeezed my hand reassuringly, but neither did he look me in the eyes. Jasper's power grips me so hard that I become completely numb of any emotion. I let my eyes slowly sink to the floor and examine a interesting spot on the carpet.

Jane laughs quietly and begins walking from Cullen to Cullen. She goes to Carlisle, who looks at her quiet calmly. "I'm sorry, but we don't know anything about it," he said.

"Is that so…" Next she approached Esme, and so on and so forth until she came to Edward and I. She looked into his eyes, and I was terrified that she would use her power against him, but I was too immobilized by Jasper's hold on me that I could do anything. Jane smirked and then turned to face me. I didn't dare lift my head from floor.

"Now Bella, do you have any idea about how that happened?" Jane grabbed my hand in hers, as if she wanted to comfort me. She stroked it gently, but she held it too firmly for me to be fooled that she cared. "Please look at me, my dear." I raised my head slightly, but I didn't meet her crimson eyes. I stared at the opposite wall instead.

"Do you have any idea how that happened? We all know that it wasn't a wild animal that killed that man."

I shook my head. "I hadn't heard anything about it," I said slowly, my unnatural calm making me sound hollow and too much like a machine.

"Hmm," she said as she lifted my hand to her eyes. She looked at it for a moment before she pulled me closer to her and smelled of my fingers. A wicked grin spread across her face. It was a smile that would cause any human to run away screaming. It was smile that made me want to run screaming. "The smell doesn't always wash completely away. Sometimes you've even got to wash underneath the fingernails," she said and let out a girlish cackle.

**(A/N: Here's a random little rant. I'm writing another story right now, just a story of no importance. But I'm writing it in present tense, and so during the latter part of the chapter, I kept switching to freakin' present tesne and it was driving me insane and no matter what I did, i could help it! Gah! So i'm sorry if you find any present tense junk. I tried to fix what I could. lol.)**


	24. Panic

**(A/N:** Okay, this update took quite a while, and I am really sorry. The past two weeks have been REALLY busy, especially due to the summer program I am in. But the program is over and I'm home for good (or atleast until school starts) and should be able to write a lot more. :) And… well… that's about it for this author's note. I guess I'm going to shut up now and you let you guys read this chapter. :D** )**

**Chapter Twenty-Four  
Panic**

"It was an accident," I screamed, my entire body shaking with fear. I jerked my hand away from her and fell backwards into Edward's arms. "I didn't mean to! I just couldn't stop myself! Please understand!"

"Newborns never 'mean to'. But that fact is is that you did, and you left the body for the humans to find as well. That shows a lack of discipline on your family's part for letting this whole thing happen." I couldn't help but look over at Emmett, knowing that Edward had told him to take care of the body when we left the scene. Emmett looked at me for a brief moment before turning his guilt-ridden face away. My face was set with a look of horror as the reality of what was going on sunk in. They were going to take me away and they'd make me their little pet and I'd never see Edward again, or Alice or any of the Cullens. I gripped Edward's hand tightly and closed my eyes, praying with all of my newfound strength that this wasn't happening. But it was and there wasn't anything that I could possibly do about it.

"Perhaps it would be in your best interests if you do come back to Volterra with us. We don't want to have to kill you for mistakes like these," Felix murmured as he came towards me. He twirled a piece of my hair around his pale finger before going back to Jane with a grin.

"You will not touch her, or take her," Edward said with a snarl, pushing me behind him. I was a bit startled with his abrupt action, but I clung on to one of his hands as he started defiantly at the four dangerous vampires in front of him.

"Foolish," Jane hissed. "You will not defy us." I felt Edward's grip on my hand tighten tremendously and he fell to his knees, his eyes locked with Jane's. He let go of my hand and crumpled into a ball, his body convulsing as waves of imagined pain shot through him. But like before, in Italy, he did not scream. I quickly fell down beside him and held his head in my lap and felt utterly helpless as he suffered.

"Stop it!" I screamed at the witch, both furious at her and afraid of what else she was capable of. "Stop it!" I shrieked at her as I rose to my feet.

Carlisle quickly got up and came to me, placing a warning hand on my shoulder. "Bella," he cautioned quietly.

I turned my head back to Carlisle and snarled, swatting his hand away. Before anyone could stop me, I lunged for the wretched vampire in front of me. Her innocent and childlike appearance didn't keep me from striking her as hard as I could, knocking her back into the other guard, Michaelis. "Don't you dare hurt him," I yelled as I bared my teeth at her, snarls and hisses coming out one right after the other.

Felix and Demetri came at me in an instant, and I seriously believed that they would have ripped me apart had Jane not spoken up.

"No," she said dangerously, slowly rising to her feet. "Don't touch her," she whispered as she took menacing steps towards me, each one followed by a deadly echo. "You are truly foolish," she hissed. Everyone in the room held their breath. There wasn't a sound except for her dreadful little feet hitting the floor as she came closer. Edward, who had been released from Jane's spell when I'd knocked her back, looked on with horror as she approached. The others were transfixed with terror and panic as well. But none of them moved.

When she was an arm's length away, she came at me so quick that I wasn't even sure she had moved until I was knocked onto my back with such force that I heard the floor beneath me crack. I looked up to see Jane standing about me, grinning. I met her ruby red eyes and saw malevolence swirling in their midst. "So foolish…" she cooed. As I held her eyes, I felt a sharp pain in my head, and I winced as the sting took me by surprise. At first I thought that for some reason, her power was working since I had been looking into her eyes. But I then realized that that wasn't it. I realized that she'd tried to use it one me one more time and I'd taken her power. The moment that I had her gift, Jane let out a bloodcurdling scream and fell to the floor. She writhed and shrieked with rage as I slowly got up, both astounded and proud at what I'd done. I hadn't intended to use her power like I had. But it had just… happened.

"What is this?" Michaelis asked as he warily approached, looking at each and every one of the Cullens with confusion and a bit of vehemence. Jane's pitiful screams hurt my ears immensely, but I didn't let my hold on her go. Not until I felt Edward's hand on my shoulder. I looked around, surprised. I hadn't even seen him get up. He shook his head at me and I relinquished Jane from her own torture.

Jane rose quickly once she was freed, and scurried over to the other three guard members. She turned to me and hissed, venom spraying out as she did so. She looked… feral and malicious. "That was a grave mistake my dear," she snarled, her tiny hands balled up into porcelain fists. "You've just signed the death warrant for your entire family, you wretched girl. Don't expect to be alive at the end of the week."

"No!" I cried, panic becoming the dominant feeling within my confused body. "You can't do that! They didn't do anything! I did!"

"That's where you're wrong," Felix hissed. "All of you," he said as his eyes scoured the room, looking at each and every one of us, "have been deceiving us this whole time."

"And how's that?" Carlisle said with a frown.

"It was you who told us that Bella didn't have a power," Felix replied with a dark grin. "You said that it 'hadn't revealed itself'. I'm fairly certain that you knew she had that power."

"You knew and didn't tell us," Demetri added.

"You and your family are nothing but trouble for our world. You defy the natural order of things with your diet, you risk exposure by living with humans, and then you let one of them find out your secret," Jane said nodding in my direction. "And you, Edward, you come to us and beg to be killed, and nearly compromise everything by nearly stepping out into daylight. Not to mention the recent incident with the newborn army. Now this." Jane shook her head with mach sadness. "It's a wonder how Aro, Marcus, and Caius have let you live so long."

"Oh god," I heard Alice whisper behind me. At first I thought she was talking about the threat that was just placed above her heads, but I was wrong. I noticed that her eyes were clouded over in a vision, and my entire world crashed at my feet when she muttered, "Charlie…"

"What did you say?" I asked, terrified that I heard her right.

Alice shook her head and took off for the door, her entire body tense and scared. "Alice!" I screamed, but she didn't make it that far. Demetri caught her easily, and held her, struggling, in his strong arms.

"Charlie?" Jane asked as she swooped over to Alice, a smile playing on her lips. "Who's Charlie? He must be someone important to you for you to react the way you did. Is he in trouble? Is he sick, perhaps?"

Alice didn't say anything. She just closed her eyes and tried to free herself from the grip of her captor. I turned around to face Edward and his face was solemn and distraught. "What is it?" I asked desperately as I grabbed onto his shirt. "What about Charlie?"

"Yes, what about Charlie?" Felix laughed.

Edward shook his head and frowned. "Tell me, Edward! Tell me now!" He glanced down at me, and then scanned the room. All eyes were on us. Alice shook her at Edward, alarm in her dark orbs. Rosalie and Emmett held each other's hands tightly. Carlisle already had a look of defeat about him, and Esme appeared likewise. Jasper looked pensive and in deep thought, his brows furrowed as he watched the scene unfold.

Edward met my eyes and I felt that familiar nagging sensation in my head and suddenly my mind was roaring with thoughts. But the only voice I listened to was Edward's.

_Charlie, Renee, and Phil are on their way here right now. They'll be here in five minutes. Charlie decided to come when he passed our drive. He's going to turn around and he'll be here soon._

"No," I whispered. It seemed like everything in the world that could go wrong, was going wrong. There was no easy road for me! Everything wanted to blow up in my face and I had absolutely no control over anything anymore! There was nothing in existence that was pulling for me to be happy. Was I being punished? Was I being punished for falling in love with a vampire, or for lying about being in love with a vampire? Was this karma coming back to haunt me for something I did when I was human? What? What did I do to deserve such torture!

Alice's body stilled for a moment and her eyes clouded over once more with a vision.

It was utter chaos and pandemonium. Renee and Phil sat in Charlie's cruise, holding each other as they watched, and Charlie stood in front of it, his whole body trembling with fear. He gazed upon the mess with fright and his face had turned completely pale. It was a mass of fury and rage as the Cullens and the Volturi fought, snarling and hissing and snapping. It was an all-out wa and Charlie, Renee, and Phil were caught in the middle of itr.

My hand flew to my mouth as I met Alice's eyes when it was over. There was no way that we were ever going to get out of this situation alive. If I hadn't met Jane's eyes and used her power, then everything would be fine. But there was no point in playing the if-ing game. What was done was done and all we could do now was pray that we'd survive. Though what could possible cause an assault like that, I was afraid to find out. But from the way things were looking, we'd all find out pretty soon.

"Please, let's talk about this. Let's be civilized about all of this," Carlisle said hastily, diverting everyone's attention away from Alice's premonition.

"Talk? There is nothing to talk about. As soon as I can speak with the other Volturi, we'll be back and we'll be rid of you miscreants once and for all." Jane threw her hands up in the air in frustration and hissed. She came up to me and bared her childlike teeth just inches from my face. "And you," she growled, "you will be the first to be dealt with. I can promise you that."

"Jane, please. This was all a misunderstanding!" Esme implored. "Yes, Bella did kill someone and yes, it was our mistake that the body was left. Both of those issues will be dealt with. But please, I beg you, don't do this. Bella shouldn't have used your power against you and we shouldn't have even hid her power from you. But we were all afraid that you'd take her away to Volterra if you knew she had a power."

"Aro wouldn't take someone against their will, you should know that. Edward and Alice weren't kept in Volterra upon their last visit, were they?"

"Well, no, bu-"

"Well what? You expect us to be lenient on you after you lied to us, and attacked me? You'll regret this day dearly," Jane said, her eyes narrowed and her fists tense at her side.

"Jane, do you hear that?" Felix asked as he moved to the front door.

"Hear what?" she replied, rolling her eyes and turning to look at him.

"There's a car coming."

I bit my lip and nearly screamed out a string of curses when my teeth actually penetrated the skin, causing venom to seep in. It stung very badly, but I didn't say anything. I just held my breath, ignored the pain in my lip, and listened to the steady approach of Charlie's cruiser.

"Who's coming?" Michaelis asked as he went to stand beside Felix, both peering outside to see who was approaching.

No one said anything.

"Who?" Felix snapped when the silence cut at his nerves.

Jane's face seemed to brighten as an idea came to her head. It's that Charlie they mentioned, she thought and cackled.

"I bet that it's Charlie. Am I right?" I looked away from her when her eyes scoured my face and she laughed, clapping her hands childishly. "It is, isn't it? So who is this Charlie, Bella? Alice? It's a human, I'm guessing." Jane glided over to Alice and looked her in the eyes and smiled. "You all do have such a soft spot for them don't you? Hehe. Yes…"

"It's a police cruiser," Michaelis said when Charlie came into view. "There's three humans inside it."

"It seems like they've been breaking the law in the human world, too!" Jane giggled and waved Felix and Michaelis away from the door.

"Leave them out of this," Edward said coolly. "They have nothing to do with all of this."

I closed my eyes when I heard the car shut off.

"I don't doubt that they know of our secret. Most humans avoid our kind. That is, unless they know exactly what it is that they're coming to see. Demetri, Michaelis, go dispose of them. And make sure you take care of the bodies."

**(**A/N: Oooh! Oh my gosh! What will happen next?! -suspensful music playing the background- Mwahaha! Aren't I so evil? But not to fear, everyone will come out unscathed. Well…let me rephrase that. They'll come out relatively unscathed. It's nothing that can't be fixed or reattached… Mwahaha (some more). –wink- I'm sorry. I'm being mean. Lol. And I'm kind of hyper and a teeny bit slap happy right now… so yeah. That should explain everything. Hehe.**)**


	25. The Battle

**(A/N:** Well, I'm fairly certain my readers don't like cliff hangers now. Hehe. But thanks to everyone for reviewing and for reading this story as far as you have. To be honest, I think it's lost the quality that it had, but I'm going to try and make these last 9 chapters (10 if you count the epilogue) really good and worth your while. So, I hope you keep on reading to see how this whole mess will turn out and I hope you enjoy what I have planned out. It'll be a happy ending, completely and fully, and all the drama and sadness and depression will all be worked out. It'll just take some time to get there, but everything will turn out okay. I promise. :)** )**

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**The Battle**

"I don't doubt that they know of our secret. Most humans avoid our kind. That is, unless they know exactly what it is that they're coming to see. Demetri, Felix, Michaelis, go dispose of them. And make sure you take care of the bodies."

"Not them," I whispered, horror-stricken. "Please, Jane. They don't know anything. They think that I fell off of a cliff and drowned. They think Edward's dead too! They don't know anything, I swear. Please, just leave them be. I'll- I'll go to Volterra with you, I'll do whatever. But please, don't hurt them!" I searched Jane's face for any sign of pity or mercy, anything that might tell me that she had a heart. She was so tiny and childlike, almost innocent looking. If she wasn't so malevolent, I may have even gone as far as to call her sweet. But beneath her childlike façade I could see the monster. I watched her carefully as she moved towards the window to look out at my human family, still situated unknowingly in the car, and I could see the disdain spread all over her face. She looked back at me and shook her head.

"It's too late for that," she said coolly and motioned for the guards to go outside. Demetri looked hesitant, and glanced back at me. I could tell that he knew Jane had gone overboard. We all knew it. I thought that he was going to say no, but he looked pitifully at me and nodded, causing all hope to flee into the darkness. Felix and Michaelis began for the door, followed by Demetri.

I clenched my eyes shut and grabbed at my hair, wanting to scream out so badly that I couldn't stand it. This couldn't be happening. Everyone I loved was going to be die because of me. I was so stupid, so… so foolish! The Cullens were going to be killed because I killed someone and because I was so careless as to look at Jane. And now my mother, my father, and Phil were going to be killed just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why was this happening to me? Why? Was it not meant for me to be happy? Or at least content? Was I fated to be miserable? Well, it didn't matter anyway. They were going to kill us all and soon all of this bedlam would be over for good. There was nothing that I could possibly do to change my fate. They were going to kill me and everyone around me. Jane would go on being wicked and power hungry and this would happen to anyone and everyone who crossed her. Maybe that was why Aro, Marcus, and Caius kept her around was because of her rage. Everyone knew what Jane was capable of if she was given motive. It wasn't fair that she should be allowed to go on, be allowed to kill wantonly!

I looked up and glanced around the room, surveying everyone's reaction. The Cullens were a mix of horror and pity. Jane looked both angry and entertained at the same time. I couldn't let this happen. There was no reason for her to give an order to kill my family. It was all a vendetta against me because I used her precious little power against her. I frowned and ran before I could change my mind.

"No," I snarled, my mind set on saving my family. So be it if I was killed in the process. I wasn't going sit and wait around for everyone to be ripped to shreds. I had to do something.

I made it to the door before the guards and I didn't hesitate to use Jane's power against the nearest vampire, which happened to be Felix. I hissed and held my arms up in front of the door, barring their way out as Felix quickly toppled to the ground shrieking at the top of his lungs.

It didn't take long for pandemonium to break loose and soon all of hell's fury was unleashed. "Stop her," Jane roared.

I didn't have time to look over at her because both Demetri and Michaelis came at me from either side. Michaelis looked prepared to kill me on the spot, teeth bared and arms coming toward me. Demetri, lunged for me too. I didn't see any hatred or contempt in his pale face, only his survival instincts kicking in. He obviously believed that I wouldn't hesitate to use Jane's power against him. The distance between Michaelis and I shortened quickly, and his hand was aimed right at my throat, his eyes as red as fury. I was taken by surprise when a bronze haired angel sent the two guards flying into each other and back against a wall cause a storm of plaster dust and pictures to go flying through the room.

"You won't fight this battle alone," Edward said, quickly turning to me and crushing his lips against mine in such desperation that for a moment I became lost in this world of chaos. He placed his hand against the arch of my back and pulled me closer to him, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him as hard as I could.

"I love you," I said as I pulled back, looking up into his forlorn eyes. "Forever and for always."

"How dare you," Jane yelled, snarling. Without any warning, she was coming straight towards us with her mouth open and ready to tear whatever she got a hold of, and her tiny hands reaching for any limb that she could rip off. Edward jumped in front of me, anticipating the attack, but he was saved from the fighting when Emmett lunged for Jane from behind, encircling her in his muscular arms. She screeched at the top of her lungs and wrestled against his hold on her. When her pearly white teeth sank into Emmett's flesh, he howled and hurled her out of the large glass window into the yard. She landed with a shriek in front of Charlie's cruiser, with Charlie halfway out of the car.

My hold on Felix broke when I whipped around to see Charlie's puzzled and startled face looking at the 'child' before him. "What the-" I heard him mutter before I felt an arm grab onto my ankle and pull me down the floor. I rolled over to see Felix gripping my leg and his eyes clouded over with rage at what I had done.

"Edward," I managed to say before Felix rose quickly to his feet and drug me outside by my foot. I thrashed about, swatting and hissing at him, but I couldn't reach him. Felix let go of my foot and as soon as I was freed, I jumped up to try and run back into the house, but he caught me by my hair and spun me around to face him.

I frantically looked around, trying to find anyone to help me. Emmett and Jasper had their hands full with Jane, Carlisle, Esme and Alice were pitted against Demetri and Edward and Rose were battling with Michaelis. I couldn't understand why Edward was having so much trouble with this fight. It was so easy with Victoria! I soon realized that I still had Edward's mind reading ability when I heard Felix think, _It's time to finish this pitiful newborn off._ That was why he was having so much trouble. He couldn't anticipate Michaelis's attacks! I wished more than anything I could give him back his power. I didn't want him to get killed because I had his power! He met my eyes for a second, and I was momentarily stunned when silence flooded my mind. Edward's head whipped around to stare fully at me, and I knew then that not only could I take powers, but I could give them back as well.

I hardly had the time to celebrate that discovery because I felt Felix's fist meet my face with a sickening crack and I flew backwards onto the ground. I heard a gunshot ring through the air and I rolled over to see Charlie holding a gun in the air, his whole body trembling with fear, his eyes locked with mine for a second before he turned to look at the whole lot of us.

"Stop!" he yelled in an attempted authoritative voice and fired his gun into the air again.

Felix growled his head whipped around in Charlie's direction and he hissed. "Oh god," Charlie whimpered as he turned on his heels and tried to get back into the cruiser, but Felix was at him before Charlie had even taken a step. I heard Renee, who was in the back seat, scream in terror when Charlie was shoved up against the cruiser, Felix inches from his face.

"No," I screamed and lunged at the guard. I wrapped my arm around his neck and managed to pull him back, away from Charlie. Felix, who was much more skilled in fighting than I, easily turned the tables and soon had me on the ground, his knee on my back. I turned my head slightly and screamed as I watched his venom-coated teeth near my neck, intent on ripping my head off. I struggled and flailed to get free before the blow was dealt, but thankfully a savior threw the large vampire off me. I rolled over and jumped up to see Carlisle standing by my side, just as vicious looking as the others. I nodded my thanks, but had to duck when Felix leaped at me. He flew right over me, but landed gracefully behind and came back for another attack. Renee's screams rang loudly in my ears, and the sound of everyone's terrified heartbeats nearly sent me over the edge, but I kept my mind focused on staying alive instead.

Every time I got a got a chance, I looked around to see everyone locked in combat, neither Volturi nor Cullen seeming to get the upper hand. Despite there being at least two Cullens against one guard member, the battle still continued on without an end in sight.

I could feel Jasper's power trying to work, trying to calm everyone down but every time he tried, Jane would come at him and distract him from using his ability. The whole yard was a flurry of hisses, growls, and snarls, and thunderous cracks, and thuds, and reverberations as our granite bodies collided and our tempers flared.

Felix had learned not to look directly at me, fearing the power that I'd stolen. Sometimes both Carlisle and I would attack him together, but Felix was always one step ahead and was making a counterattack.

I feared that the fight would never end until I heard howls to my left. Every one seemed to freeze and turn and look in the direction of the eerie howls, eyes locked on the tree line for a fraction of a second. I actually smiled when I saw a large russet wolf come bounding into view, the rest of the pack in tow.

It was almost as if the Volturi shared the same mind because they all turned in unison, sensing the danger, and ran. The wolves caught up with them easily and surrounded the hissing and snarling Volturi with their own growls and barks. Jake was the first to attack them, taking a chunk out of Jane's shoulder immediately. She screamed, but her shouts were soon silenced as the rest of the pack joined in, quickly ripping the four vampires apart. Renee's screams only seemed to increase in their volume when the wolves moved and she was able to see where the four mysterious people had gone.

I sunk to my knees and held my head in my hands, a vast swirling whirlpool of emotions boiling underneath my skin. For one, the scent of my family was all around me, and I could feel my body tense up and I could feel the venom pooling in my mouth. I beat my hands into the ground and whimpered as I tried to ignore what my body was telling me to do. I tried to ignore the thirst that their presence caused. Secondly, not only was my thirst driving me insane, but the fact that my family had watched this whole thing was tearing me apart.

"Come on," Edward said as he bent down and picked me up, holding me tightly to prevent me from jumping at one my family members. I looked up at him and was relieved to see him unscathed and unharmed. He looked down at me and weakly smiled. "It's all over now," he said as he began carrying me over to the pile of dismembered Volturi.

I cried in horror when I saw that not everyone had come away uninjured. First my eyes fell on Esme. She held her arm close to her, and I noticed that was bent at an odd angle. She looked at me and smiled. "It's nothing," she said, but I found it incredibly hard to believe her. She rubbed it absentmindedly as she watched everyone gather around the pile.

Next I noticed Emmett and I could hardly believe what I was seeing. I couldn't help but think he was invincible, with his imposing physique. But his lower lip was turn down in a frown as he held his detached forearm. I watched him as he tried to reattach it, holding it carefully to his arm. Rosalie was by his side, rubbing his shoulder as she watched solemnly. One of the wolves had gotten hurt, as well. Seth lay on the ground, whimpering as he looked pitifully at his broken leg. One of the Volturi had apparently grabbed a hold of him before they were permanently dispatched.

"I can't believe I caused all of this," I said, horrified.

"It's nothing that won't heal," he said and kissed the top of my head as we watched Carlisle light a match and drop it onto the pieces.

**(A/N: ** Oooh! I bet Aro, Marcus and Caius won't be very happy about this. No, not at all. And what about Charlie, Renee, and Phil? They just witnessed their supposedly dead daughter fight with vicious vampires. Charlie was attacked by Felix, for goodness sakes! And why did the wolves interfere? Will Emmett's arm reattach itself? (hehe) Find out next time in... CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX! hehe. lol. :D Reviews would be greatly appreciated. What did you really think of this chapter? LIke I said before, fight scenes are hard for me to do, but I think I pulled it off okay. What do you guys think? Oh, and another question, for those of you who've read my other story, If You Love Me, it was suggested to me to do a sequel about Edward dying and seeing Bella in heaven. I've been meaning to do this for a while. But what do you guys think about that? Any and all comments about anything and everything are appreciated. :) **)**


	26. Explanations

**(A/N:** Wow, I didn't think everyone was that worried about Emmett's arm. o0 I was just joking about his arm not reattaching in the last author's note. Wow. No more of that sort of stuff! Hehe. And everyone will be glad to know that the bad stuff is over for now. This chapter is just about explaining things to the 'humans' and getting everyone calmed down. And after this chapter, very low drama for a while. It's a bit of a calm down period. Lol. So don't worry, no more problems shall arise other than the ones we already have. No surprise dramas and problems. :)** )**

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Six  
Explanations**

A purple column of smoke slowly rose to the sky and all of us, Cullens and Quileutes watched solemnly as the Volturi smoldered to ashes. I wondered if it would have been better for us if we had let them live, if we'd just kept the pieces separate and not burned them. Aro, Marcus and Caius would come after us all now and bring the whole guard with them. I wasn't sure if we were capable of that battle, or if we even wanted it. The Volturi, as corrupt and malicious as they were at times, still held to position of peacekeepers. They kept order and balance to vampire world and without them chaos would break loose. I dreaded the way this whole thing would turn out.

My thoughts, however, were interrupted when I heard the caulking of a gun from behind us, from the cruiser. "Everyone, p-put your hands a-above your head where I can s-see them," my father stuttered. I could hear his heart beat racing, hear his panicked breathing. Renee and Phil showed little difference. I clutched Edward's arm with both of my hands and clamped my eyes shut as I struggled to remain calm.

"Charlie, we can explain everything," Carlisle said calmly, slowly turning around with his arms raised in the air. Everyone followed suit, careful not to make any sudden movements to frighten my family. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Charlie was in the driver's seat of the cruiser with the window rolled down and his pistol aimed at Carlisle. Renee was the in back, huddle against the farthest door with Phil holding her and all three of them watched us with scrutiny. Charlie was the first to lock eyes with me and I heard his heart skip a beat. We stared at each other for the longest time, neither of us moving. Edward slowly let go of me so I could stand on my own, but held onto my arm tightly. Charlie was barely breathing and I wasn't breathing at all. His face scrunched up as he looked at me and I saw tear after tear roll down his cheek.

Renee gasped when she saw what Charlie was staring at. Her hand flew to her mouth and I could see her entire body start to tremble. "Bella?" she asked, flabbergasted.

"You lied to us," Charlie managed to whisper as he whipped his face with his sleeve. He looked back at Carlisle and yelled, "You lied to us!"

"We can explain," he said taking a slow and tentative step toward the cruiser. "Just calm down, please."

"Calm down? How do you expect us to calm down after what just happened? You- You just killed all those people and you have all of these wolves!" I heard Paul growl softly from behind me. "And you let us believe that our daughter had died! And you," Charlie yelled as he turned the gun to Edward, "you led all of those people on at the beach. You made everyone think that both of you were dead! How am I supposed to calm down knowing all of this?"

"Please," Carlisle begged taking another step forward.

"Don't come any closer or I swear I'll shoot!"

Carlisle sighed and stopped where he stood. "It won't do any good," he said, meeting my father's eyes. "After what you just witnessed, do you think that it'll make a difference, shooting me?" I was slightly surprised at Carlisle's change of tactics. I wasn't sure if it would help or hurt trying to calm them down, but it definitely did something. Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly. I could tell his mind was racing with thoughts, but he did not lower the gun.

"Will you let us talk to you, please?" Esme asked gently. I looked over at her and saw that her arm was slowly starting to fix itself. She moved to stand beside her husband, placing her good hand on his shoulder. "We're not going to hurt you." When Charlie didn't say anything, she sighed.

"Jake," Carlisle said after some thought, "maybe it would be best if you helped us. Will you?"

"Jake? Jacob Black?" My father's eyes widened and he frantically looked around for the Jake he knew. I looked around and met Jake's eyes and he looked sympathetically at me, in his doggy sort of way, and nodded.

"He says that he will for Charlie's sake," Edward said, saying Jake's thoughts out loud for Carlisle to hear. I watched the large russet wolf lope into the woods and within a few minutes, he reemerged fully human with a somber look on his face. I could tell that Charlie didn't realize what Jake was, what he just did. I doubted that his mind had thought of, or was even open to the ideas of werewolves and vampires. Or at least not yet.

"Jake, come here! Get in the cruiser right now! I don't know where you came from but I don't want you anywhere near the Cullens!"

"No, Charlie," he said as he walked past me to stand with Carlisle. "You need to listen to what we all have to say. Just take a deep breathe and you'll be fine, alright?"

Charlie shook his head vehemently and closed his eyes tightly, and I felt an immense amount of guilt as I watched him struggle with all of this. I wished that I could say something, anything to comfort him. But speaking meant breathing and breathing meant inhaling more human scent and I couldn't afford that. Slowly, he pulled the gun back into the car and switched the safety on and sighed. "Fine," he breathed and looked up defeated.

Carlisle nodded approvingly. "Jake, can you tell your pack to phase? I think it's best for them to see everyone." Jake nodded and without another word, one by one the quileutes grudgingly walked into the forest. I noticed that Paul and Leah snarled at him before going out of sight.

"Wh-what's going on? What are the wolves doing?" Renee asked, startled by the large animals moving all of the sudden.

"It's alright," Jake said as he approached the cruiser carefully. "They're not going to hurt you." He looked back at me for a moment, meeting my eyes. I knew what he was thinking. Saying that they weren't going to get hurt wasn't the most truthful thing in world, not with me around. His dark eyes searched me for a minute, and I tried to stay as calm as possible, hiding any signs that I was fighting myself. It seemed to work because Jake turned back to my family and added, "No one here is going to hurt you. I promise."

"Who are they?" Phil asked suddenly when the human La Push gang started to emerge from the woods. Embry came out first, holding Seth in his arms. Seth looked like he was in pain, as he should be with his broken leg. The rest came out one after the other. It looked surreal, watching them all appear from out of the misty woods. The pack came to stand in a half circle around the cruiser. Most of them looked unhappy, others looked concerned and worried about my family. Charlie looked at each and every one of them, recognizing their faces. Renee and Phil just looked at them all in awe.

"Wh-what's going on?"

"It's alright. Come on, just get out of the cruiser. Nothing's going to happen to you." Charlie's eyes roamed over the Quileutes, his eyes wide with astonishment. He glanced back at me and I nodded with a smile. I made sure not to show my teeth, remembering how Edward had once said that they had to be careful when they smiled around humans because they innately knew to be afraid.

The whole world seemed to stop as we waited to see what would happen. He stared at me for the longest time, and then at Edward. "We're not going to hurt you, Charlie," Edward said soothingly, much like one would speak to a child. My father seemed to take solace in this and he cautiously opened the door as if a bomb would explode if he moved too fast. Renee and Phil followed quickly. The three of them huddled together, standing awkwardly and shifting their weight every few moments.

Carlisle approached them with slow and deliberate steps, showing that he had no intention of hurting them. Phil ushered Renee behind him when Carlisle came within arm's reach, but otherwise, no one moved.

I stood there with Edward gripping my arm and I was glad that he was. With them out of the car, so vulnerable and so easy to get to I struggled to focus. The sight of their exposed skin made it seem like I'd never fed and my body was crying out with an extreme need for sustenance. I had no idea how I'd kept myself from killing them earlier in the fight because right now it was almost unbearable. I suppose it was my need to survive that kept me focused. All I knew was that I wasn't fighting anyone but myself and it was getting hard. I should be thankful that I was controlling myself as well as I was. My family didn't need to be more alarmed than they already were.

"Just tell us what's going on, please," my mother choked as she tried to hold back her tears. She stared at me from behind Phil and I heard her heart rate increase as she did so. She knew something was different about me or else she wouldn't become so alarmed when she really looked at me. She closed her eyes and laid her head upon Phil's shoulder and cried quietly.

Charlie took a deep breath and met Carlisle's eyes. "We'll listen to what you have to say Dr. Cullen because I want answers as to why you killed those people, and how for that matter. And Jake, I want to know what just happened with the wolves and all your friends. But most of all, I want to know what possible reason you people could have for telling everyone that my daughter was dead when she's alive and well and standing not forty feet from me!"

"That's fair enough," Carlisle said. "But we need you to understand that the answers we give you might be hard to believe but they're completely true."

"Maybe it would be best if we went inside for this," Esme suggested, pointing to the house. "I'm sure you're probably cold."

"We're fine," Charlie snapped looking over at her. "And we are_ not_ going anywhere with you until you give us some answers!"

"Very well," Carlisle replied nodded. "Before we can answer your questions though, I suppose we'll have to explain what we are."

"What you are? What do you mean?" Renee asked, looking up startled.

"You've already thought about the possibilities," Edward spoke up. "All three of you wondered how a human could possibly move so fast when we were fighting. When you were shoved up against the cruiser, Charlie, your first thought was that you were being attacked by a red-eyed demon. You all knew that something wasn't right about us."

"H-how could you possibly know that?"

"We're not human, Charlie," Carlisle said.

"And neither are we. Or at least not entirely," Jake added.

"Th-that's not possible," Charlie said shaking his head. "This isn't some science fiction book. This is the real world and stuff like this just doesn't happen!"

"But it is happening. Charlie, Edward died in Chicago in 1918 because of the Spanish Influenza. Jasper was killed when he was a soldier in the Civil War. And Esme, she threw herself off of a cliff in 1921. Rose was beaten and left for dead in 1933 and Emmett was mauled by a bear in 1935."

"And what about you?" Renee asked tentatively.

"You can't possibly believe this, Renee!" Phil burst out. "There is no way on earth that this man is telling the truth! They don't look dead to me. Do they to you? And none of them look a day over twenty-five." Renee didn't say anything and neither did Charlie. The two of them met the eyes of each and every one of the Cullens.

"It's true," Alice said when Charlie looked at her. Of all of the Cullens, Charlie was most attached to Alice from all the times she'd come to the house. I could tell that he was hoping she would tell him otherwise. When she didn't, Charlie nodded.

"As for me," Carlisle replied, addressing Renee's question, "I was attacked back in London, England in the mid 1600's."

"Attacked by what, exactly?" Charlie inquired. I saw Renee instinctively grab Phil's hand and look at Carlisle apprehensively. She was shaking now and I felt horrible for not being able to comfort my mother. After all, I usually had to be the adult in our relationship. If circumstances had been different, I would have run to her, to all of them, and embraced them. It was actually a wonder that none of them had tried to approach me yet. I leaned my head against Edward's stone shoulder and watched helplessly as they were struck with the horrible truth.

"Vampires," Carlisle answered after some time.

"What are you suggesting, mister? That you're… one of the undead? That your whole family, or whatever you call them, are vampires too?" Phil approached Carlisle and stared angrily at him, a mere inches from his face. "Are you saying that there are bloodsuckers out there in the world and that you're one of them?"

Carlisle didn't seem the least bit intimidated. He smiled sadly and nodded. I could see that it hurt him, however, to be thought of in such a manner as Phil had just described him, but it was the truth. "Yes. That is exactly what I'm saying."

"And what about you, Jake? You said that you weren't entirely human either. Are you… are you a werewolf?" Charlie turned to Jacob, his eyes wide in realization.

Jake nodded. "Yeah, Charlie. It's a gene that runs in the Quileute bloodline."

"And Billy? Is he… is he like you too?"

"No, Billy isn't. Billy is just as human as you are. It's just that with the Cullens around, it caused the gene in the younger generation to kick in. You see, it's our job to protect everyone in this area from the Cold Ones. We kill any that come near here."

"The Cold Ones? You mean those old stories your dad talked about were true? Is that why none of you guys ever went to the hospital in town? Because Carlisle was a doctor…" Charlie spun around quickly, a thought striking him. "Carlisle, you're a doctor! How- how? Do you… do you eat your patients?"

Carlisle actually chuckled and I couldn't help but smile myself. "Yes, I am a doctor, and no I do not feed from my patients, or from any humans for that matter. None of us here do. You see, I when I was changed, I detested what I had become more than you can imagine. For the last four centuries I worked on perfecting my ability to resist the primal pull that blood has. Becoming a doctor was my way of coping and helping others. And like I said, we don't feed from humans unlike the ones that you watched us kill. We live off of animals."

"And those camping trips your family takes up in the mountains?"

"That's when we hunt."

"The only reason that we've let the Cullens live here in Forks was because years ago, they came to Forks and made a treaty with Ephiram Black, a relative of mine. It was agreed that as long as they stayed off of our land and did not bite a human that we would not bother them."

"Wow…" Charlie said flabbergasted. "A- and what just happened here? They were vampires, too?"

"Yes. They threatened us, and when you arrived, they were going to kill you. But Bella attacked them to prevent them from killing you. As you saw, it turned into chaos very quickly.

"W-what about Bella? Is she… is she like you now, too?" Renee looked over at me once more, but this time I couldn't meet her gaze. I heard her stifle a sob.

"I'm afraid so, Renee. About a week ago something happened and there was a large number of newborn vampires coming to find Bella. We tried our best to protect her, but the leader of the group found her while we were taking care of the others. Edward did all that he could do, but Bella was attacked nonetheless. Telling you that she'd died was the only option that we could find."

"Do you have any idea what you put us through," Charlie bellowed angrily, glaring at Carlisle. "Do you have any idea whatsoever? I couldn't sleep at night because I thought that my little girl was dead when she was just right here! I cried more than you can imagine, Carlisle!" Charlie frowned and walked past everyone, his eyes set on me.

"Where are you going?" Carlisle said as he ran in front of Charlie to bar his way.

"I'm going to get my daughter. I'm taking her back home."

"Charlie," Alice said as he sprinted over to him. "It doesn't work that way. It's too dangerous to be around Bella."

"Dangerous? She is my daughter! She's not dangerous!" Charlie looked past them and looked pleadingly at me. "Come on Bella, I'm taking you home." I gazed at him for a moment; wishing that I could say something, say anything at all. But I knew that I couldn't. I just looked into his brown eyes, and I watched the tears start to form. I shook my head slowly and it felt like I was being ripped in two as I watched him begin to sob.

* * *

**(A/N:** Alright, I'm a little worried. With Breaking Dawn coming out in a few days, there's obviously going to be some questions answered that us Twilight readers have been wondering. Like how exactly the transformation works, how difficult it is to be a newborn (if Mrs. Meyer goes that route) and a lot of other things. And I have my own interpretation in this story, and I'm almost positive that they way Stephenie has written it is really different than the way I've written it. So if you read Breaking Dawn when it comes out and it's infinitely different than my story, I just hope that you don't stop reading my story. I had no way of knowing what Stephenie Meyer was thinking and so if it's extremely different, I'm really sorry. Keep in mind that I began this story last September, so it's been quite a while. So PLEASE don't abandon me. –puppy dog eyes- Umm… yeah. That's my little plea. :P I'm going to go write chapter twenty-seven now. **)**


	27. Major Author's Note

**MAJOR AUTHOR'S NOTE!!**

Okay guys, I'm a horrible person for not updating, I know. But I feel like I should leave you a note as to why this story has kind of stopped.

First off, the real world has just given me a big slap in the face. This year has been and will be a really crazy, hectic, and expensive year for me. I take a night class on Thursdays, I have academic team games on Tuesdays, and I work every other night of the week except Sunday. Sunday is the only day I have to myself. So I'm not getting home until late and as soon as I get home, I'm going straight to bed. So I really have no time on my hands whatsoever.

My story isn't the only thing I've had to put on hold, mind you. I've not been able to do my homework since I started this job and so I'm not doing to hot right now.

So guys, I'm really, really sorry about having to stop writing this story for now. I'd really love to finish it because, honestly, I like my plot and my ending WAY better than Breaking Dawn, although BD did have a FEW redeeming qualities that I liked. I'm not sure that I'll ever get a chance to finish Clinging To Humanity, which makes me sad because this would have been the first story that I've ever finished in my entire life (other than short stories). I was so excited before cause I thought that I'd actually finish something. Well, hey, there went that.

But if you're just dying to know how the story ends and you just can't wait to know what happens, send me a PM and I will somehow get you my little chapter summaries/outlines that I've been using to keep the story on track. Keep in mind that they were originally written for me and only me. They are filled with horrible grammar, run-on sentences, and they're not definite, or rather, they wouldn't be definite if I were still writing this story. The outlines start with Chapter 18, so it's quite a lengthy little thing.

But like I said, since I have no free time, it'll have to be on a Sunday that I'll send you these outlines if you really want to see them.

Well, that's about it. Maybe next semester I'll have more time or something, I don't know. Because if I ever get any time again, I'd really like to finish this story because the ending was as violent and as messy and as action packed as I'd hoped Breaking Dawn would have been. –sigh- So I guess I shall bid my trusty and wonderful readers an overdue farewell.

Keep writing and keep dreaming,  
Niek


	28. A HAPPY NOTE

**Author's Note Number Two!**

Hey guys! Guess who's back!? Yup, that's right. My schedule is opened up and now I have time. Amazing, I know. :P So, here's the deal.

I've had Chapter 27 halfway written for months now, and so I thought that I should pick it back up and keep going. Well… I thought that I should read 25 and 26 to jog my memory about what's going on and so I did. Unfortunately, it didn't help because I was completely lost about the details of the situation. And so THEN I decided to go back the beginning and start from there, so I did.

Guys, why didn't you tell me how bad those first chapters were? I mean, geesh. The later stuff is fine, and I like it. But the beginning is really, really bad in comparison. So, here's the deal. I'm doing to do a teeny overhaul. I'm going to rewrite some of the beginning stuff, and I'm going to leave other stuff. I'm going to add in some Breaking Dawn elements, (only a few cause I'm still angry with that book), but for the most part, it's going to remain unchanged. Some chapters will get some more length added and others may be tweaked more than others. My plot will remain the same, though, I promise. My little summaries, for those of you who got them, will not change.

I'm going to try and get a good stock pile of chapters written before I start posting in case I get backed up and can't write. I have a lot of time coming up though due to Christmas and Thanksgiving, so expect some updates in the super near future. :D


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